


Card Sharks

by yeojasamho



Series: Vigilantes Solos [1]
Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/M, Gen, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-11-16 04:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18087305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojasamho/pseuds/yeojasamho
Summary: Since putting up Bermuda Investigations along with Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Jaehwan, Mirae's tasked with a case that has Younghoon confronting his past and putting their relationship to the test.





	1. A.K.A Nightmares and Flashbacks

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of the series that's like a solo spinoff from the main superpowers au.

Midnight. 

Lee Mirae sat in the dining room of her apartment, drinking a mug of hot chocolate. She woke up in a cold sweat, as flashes of her past continued to appear in her dreams. It had been like that months after their encounter with the Kang family mob, and what felt like years after the Utopian cult, and the Bermuda mission. 

Since then, Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin moved into the vacant apartment next door, leaving her and Jihoon in the place they were in. Her adoptive brother was sound asleep in his room, or perhaps eating his midnight snacks while reading a bunch of comics. They had a long day of managing the store as cases in their new agency, Bermuda Investigations, have been slow. Hyuk was currently working on a case, so did Chanyeol. She didn’t know if Jaehwan took on one, but she knew she didn’t have any. 

Nevertheless, they kept their new venture running. Ino and Junhong outfitted their office with the technology while Jaehwan’s girlfriend Jinyi, provided hard copies of records and the underground connections her family used to have. 

There was a knock on the door, and she stood up as she heard the door open. “Mirae?” It was Younghoon, looking sleepy and his hair all tousled. He closed the door behind him upon seeing her. 

“Yeah?” she asked, sitting back down. “Can’t sleep?” 

He rubbed his eyes and sat down next to her. “More like it’s you that can’t sleep,” he said softly. “This is usually the time you make yourself something warm to drink to help you fall asleep even when you know you haven’t been sleeping well, even with me around” he rested his head on her shoulder and she pushed his hair back away from his face. 

“You know me well” she glanced at him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “How?” 

“We’ve been together for more than a year, and throughout that time, we’ve slept in the same room, in the same bed, and even lived together before you got us the apartment next door” he explained, his voice husky. 

Mirae smiled and kissed the top of his head. “It’s annoying being able to remember what happened to me in the past,” she admitted. “You know how there are people who try to learn about who they were? I’m not one of those people...I want to keep those things in the past, I don’t want to remember what they did to me, I just want to focus on what’s happening now and what will happen in the future…” she closed her eyes for a moment. 

Younghoon looked up at her. “Then you do that.” He said. 

She frowned. “I’m sorry you have to hear this from me a lot. Sooner or later this is going to make you give up on me.” 

His expression fell, and he cupped her face. “Listen to me. Lee Mirae, I will never, ever, not in a million years, give up on you. I nearly lost you before, I won’t ever lose you again,” He said firmly. “We’re endgame, you and me. It’ll always be us.” 

Mirae bit her lip to hold back her tears. “You’re right, it will always be us” she said, and he kissed her. 

“Come, time for you to sleep, I’ll sleep with you” he said when he pulled away, taking her hand and leading her back into the bedroom. 

~ 

The office of Bermuda Investigations was quiet. Hyuk was away, working on both a case he had gotten and was at his company, TRBL Music. Chanyeol was at his parents’ restaurants with Juyeon, who had also taken up a waiting job there, and Jaehwan was nowhere to be seen. Changmin on the other hand, was busy helping out Jihoon inside the music store. Mirae sat behind her desk, going through the store’s paperwork while Younghoon was cooking ramyun for both of them. 

The front door of the office opened and an older woman with a bob, vibrant red lipstick, and wearing a white mink coat came in. “Is anyone here?” she called out. 

Mirae looked up from her desk and Younghoon stepped out of the kitchen to look. He froze as he saw the woman, looking at her with a mixture of shock and fear. “Wh-what are you doing here?” he asked. 

A smile appeared on her face when she saw the boy. “Younghoon? It’s been so long, I never thought I’d see you again but here we are” she said, her voice calm, almost motherly. 

Mirae then appeared. She noticed the way they were looking at each other. “May I help you?” she immediately broke the silence that came over the two. 

“Yes, you may,” she glanced at Younghoon again and grinned. “My name is Yoojung. Jeon Yoojung. You must be Lee Mirae” she turned to her. 

“I am. How can I help you? Bermuda Investigations has a lot of specialties” She gestured for Yoojung to sit down on the couch. Younghoon stood still, as if wary, and Mirae noticed it. “Do you two know each other?” she asked. 

“Yes, we’ve…” the woman paused. “Worked together in the past, but what’s happened in the past is not important because I have a job I want you to do” she said pointedly. She glanced at Younghoon again. “You’re not even going to offer me anything to drink?” she asked. 

Her words made Mirae raise a brow. “Excuse me? What exactly do you want us, or me to do?” she asked. She was becoming curious as to how he knew her. 

Yoojung smiled a sickeningly sweet smile, eyeing Younghoon most of all. “Your handiwork with the Kang family certainly earned you the respect of the underworld, they know better than to go against you,” she began. 

“You care because?” Younghoon cut her off, his expression stiffening. 

“I care because you are the only one who can be very persuasive,” Yoojung’s smile began to fade. “They have something of mine, I want it back.” 

“You’ll have to be very specific. What did whoever they were take from you?” She asked. 

“They have my daughter, as well as a few other things” Yoojung replied. 

Younghoon rolled his eyes. “Woori? Woori is missing? She always is” he said. Mirae raised a brow at her boyfriend. 

“You can doubt me all you want, but she has been gone for days, weeks now. I tried to have someone, quite a number of people find her but they, well, ended up dead” Yoojung replied. She took out a folder from her crocodile-skin handbag and handed it over to Mirae, who looked through them. 

There were photos of bodies scattered inside an old temple-like structure. There were also photos of five people, two men and three women. All of them were dressed in black and carrying machine guns while boarding SUVs. One of the women was blonde and wore an eyepatch, the other was tanned and had curly hair, and the third one had a jet-black bob and small eyes. The smaller, stockier man had a beret on while the more imposing, older man had greying hair that went down to his shoulders. 

Younghoon glared at Yoojung before walking over to Mirae and taking a look at the file as well. His eyes widened. “The Sharks” he muttered. 

“Sharks? The name of their gang?” Mirae read the information behind the photos. 

“Yeah” He replied. “They’re dangerous people, more dangerous than the Kang Family” he whispered. 

Yoojung seemed to have overheard them. “Oh yes, they are more dangerous than the Kang Family, a lot more violent at least. They do their own dirty work, they’re experienced assassins, own and operate one of the biggest drug cartels in the country, and they’re also active fugitives.” She explained, while Mirae read out the details on each of them. “Younghoon over there might want to give you more details” she egged him on. 

Mirae looked up at her boyfriend. “What else do I need to know about them?” She asked. That was only one of the questions she had for him, and he knew it. 

“I’ll tell you later” Younghoon replied, glaring at Yoojung again. 

“So, miss Lee Mirae, I’d like for you to name your price for this kind of job,” She took out her checkbook and a pen. “Something like this will obviously cost a lot, no?” she glanced at the mutant. 

She paused to think. She was mostly confused by what she was going to do, what Yoojung was asking her to do. At the same time, she was a little concerned with the way she talked to Younghoon. According to her, it seemed like he met the gang. “With what you want me to do, I’d say a couple million won” She replied. “That should take care of everything I might need-” 

“We might need” Younghoon corrected. “You and I, we’re doing this together” he said to Mirae, who was getting more confused. 

“Fair enough,” Yoojung began scribbling an amount on the slip of paper. She tore it off and handed it over to her. “You have a week to find them. Are we clear?” 

“A week?” Mirae asked. 

“Yes. I’m not paying you that much to wait a long time, and most especially if Younghoon is with you,” she side-eyed him. “Do whatever is necessary to bring Woori back, including my jewels. He knows what I mean. It’s nice doing business with you” Yoojung got up and left, the door closing with a slight thud behind her. 

Mirae turned to Younghoon. “What just happened? What did she mean by whatever she was saying earlier? What do you know?” she asked him quickly. 

He turned around. “It’s...complicated” was all he could manage to say. He went back to the little kitchen they had and towards his unfinished bowl of ramen that had gone cold. 

She raised a brow. “Kim Younghoon. Is there something I should know about?” She asked firmly this time. “You know, you’ve never told me anything else about your past, what you did all those years before you joined Summerland” she remarked. 

He waved a hand and started slurping up some noodles. “I didn’t think it was important. Just like how you thought your past isn’t important.” 

Mirae followed him and sat down in front of the second untouched bowl of ramen. “But clearly what she’s saying is related to yours, she thinks you know something,” She made him face her and held his hands. “You have to tell me if we want to close this case.” 

He looked into her eyes and she saw that he was tearing up. “I-I didn’t mean to...I’m not proud of it… Woori is actually the girl I kissed and put in a coma” he revealed. 

Her expression fell, and her hands loosened on his. “When your powers first came?” she asked, and he nodded. His answer only brought on more questions. “What else is Woori to you? What did you do?” She cupped his face. “Younghoon, it’s just me, you can tell me anything, remember?” she said. 

He was still speechless until he cleared his throat. “Years ago, before I joined Summerland, I did odd jobs, and at one point I was working for the Sharks,” He whispered. “I ran away from home, remember? I needed to survive, and they gave me some food, gave me some money, and when I told them about my powers, they-” he closed his eyes tight. “They turned me into their muscle, to persuade people to do what they wanted or give information, they said it was less messy that way, and I’ve had to use it on a number of people they didn’t like” He stared into her eyes, and she could see just how traumatized he was, how scared he was. 

Mirae looked back into his eyes and she held his hands tightly, trying to figure out what to say from there. “What about Yoojung? How do you know her?” she asked calmly. 

“She’s the ex-wife of Bumsoo, their leader” Younghoon looked down. “They got divorced when I met them. Bumsoo was having an affair with Jungah, and she caught them in the act. Jungah died in the church, or at least I think she did. They’re known to be very merciless. They could murder a dozen people without batting an eye” he explained, recalling everything. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this, I thought this could all be behind me when I escaped and went to Summerland, but she had to come in and make me remember all over again.” 

Mirae could only nod. She carefully broke apart her chopsticks to eat the ramyun he made for her and the two of them ate in silence. 

~ 

Changmin entered the office. He noticed the silence between Younghoon and Mirae. “Usually when it’s quiet, you two would most likely be doing something other than talking or eating and drinking,” He looked at them curiously. “Is everything okay? Did we get a case?” 

“Yes, and we do” Mirae explained, gesturing to the folder on her desk. “Are you in? The client paid a lot of money” 

The metal-bender saw the check and looked dumbfounded. “Whoa! Really?! That much?!” He picked up the folder and looked at the photos. “Sharks Gang. Jeon Bumsoo, alias Hammerhead, former military general, member of the special forces one to thirteen for thirty years,” He began to read out, sitting down on the couch. 

“Yang Jungah, alias Mako, lost her eye during a knife fight, changes her eye patch according to what she’s wearing, expert in reconnaissance. Shin Sejeong, alias Whitetip, expert in intelligence, the leader of the crime council in Japan, has a personal army called the dangerous eight, whoa remind me not to mess with her,” Changmin kept reading, while Mirae and Younghoon listened. 

“Han Myungjun, alias Sand Tiger, master martial artist and master in body language, owns a chain of casinos to fund operations. Cha Euijin, alias Blacktip, has connections to literally everywhere, former member of the overseas deployment brigade of the special forces, really?” Changmin finished reading, looking at the details curiously. 

Mirae glanced at Younghoon. “Well, you’re right in these people being dangerous. Drug cartel apart from casino chains and Japan gangs. Where could we start finding Woori though?” she asked the two of them. “Would Juyeon want to come with us?” she turned to Changmin. 

“I’m pretty sure he would.” Changmin replied. 

She looked back at her boyfriend again. “What about you? If this is affecting you this much, are you sure you can handle this?” she said softly, pushing his hair back from his face. 

“I’m sure. It’s time for put that part of my life behind me for good” Younghoon agreed. 

“Then it’s settled, the four of us are solving a case” Mirae declared, and Changmin cheered. “Where should we start?” she asked them. 

“I think we should start by calling Juyeon first and tell him what we got” Younghoon suggested. 

~ 

“Where’s Jihoon?” Younghoon asked, while they cleared their desk of papers that evening. 

“He went for taekwondo lessons” Mirae explained, closing the drawers. Jihoon had been trying to do more martial arts, his explanation being that he wanted to protect Mirae just as much. She did agree that he had a natural skill for learning the techniques, and she knew that he’ll become a black belt sooner the more he practiced. She’d still wind up beating him whenever they sparred, however. 

“You still haven’t taught us how to fight though” He eyed her with a playful look, pulling her away from her desk with a gloved hand. “You probably should sometime.” 

Mirae wrapped her arms around him in an embrace, looking up at him. “You three personally don’t need it.” She pointed out. 

He pouted. “I knew you were going to say that, but come on, can’t we learn from you?” He tried to sound cute, making her wrinkle her nose. 

“Cute, but you don’t need it. Your powers give you a big advantage already” She insisted. 

“Please?” Younghoon kept pouting. 

She wrinkled her nose some more at his expression, then her expression softened. “Are you feeling better now?” she asked. 

Younghoon nodded. “Much better, thank you” He pecked her lips. “A lot better knowing you’re with me.” She smiled and pulled away to turn the desk light off. “You could have gotten mad at me but you didn’t. Why?” He asked, suddenly curious about her reaction earlier. 

Mirae turned to him. “You forget who you’re talking to. It seems like we do have a lot more in common than we thought” she said. 

Overcome by affection, he leaned in to kiss her, only to be cut off when they heard the door open. “Hey, are you two done?” Changmin teased, making them lean away. “Let’s go get dinner and we can go over what to do” he said. 

They laughed and followed him out, the metal bender locking the doors. Their apartment building was next to the offices, and they went up the stairs to their floor. Juyeon was already there, wearing oven mittens. Since moving in and taking up a job at Viva Polo, he took up cooking and learning some of the recipes at the restaurant. “What are we having tonight?” Younghoon asked as they removed their shoes. 

“Lasagna! Vegetable lasagna, but it’s just as good” Juyeon beamed, peeking into the oven. 

The dining table was already set and Mirae looked at him appreciatively. “You’ve learned so much since you started working with Chanyeol at the restaurant” she observed. 

“Someone has to cook between the three of us and it might as well be me” He pointed out. “Hold on, tell me about the case we’re on while I bring this over there” He opened the oven door and took out the dish. 

Changmin watched him. “You can turn into metal, you can probably take the hot dish with your bare hands, you know” he said. 

“I’m wearing oven mitts, I’ll be fine” he assured the metal-bender, bringing the dish to the table while Younghoon took out a pitcher of water and glasses. “Ta-da!” He set it down, fanning the steam over it before sitting down. 

“It seems like our case involves people Younghoon used to work with” Mirae explained. “The Sharks gang, this gang of assassins. They’re apparently more dangerous, and own a bunch of casinos, sleazy ones, from what I saw in the file.” 

Juyeon gaped, and looked at Younghoon. “You used to work with those kinds of people?” he asked. 

“I was just as surprised as you are” Changmin said. 

“It’s not like I’m proud to have worked with them, okay? I did what I had to do to survive, I ran away from home, remember?” Younghoon explained, already frustrated as he tucked in. “Besides, they were also pretty scared of me when they found out what I could do, so there’s that.” 

“What else? What do we have to do with them?” 

“Our client, Yoojung, her daughter has been missing and she’s supposedly with the head shark, Bumsoo. She wants us to find her and get her back, but I think she knows it’s going to be anything but peaceful so she wants us to do it” Mirae explained. 

“Finding people is Jaehwan’s specialty though” Juyeon said. 

“Yeah, except Jaehwan’s preoccupied with a case right now. I haven’t even seen him in days ever since he took that on” Mirae shrugged. “This lasagna’s good, by the way. You learned a lot” she glanced at Juyeon, who was beaming with pride. 

“So where do we start?” Changmin asked them. “We’ve only got a week, with the price Yoojung paid us” he added. 

Younghoon paused to take a drink of water. He hated having to remember it, but it was a time where he had to for the job. “They’ll most likely be spending time at the new casino Myungjun had built. It’s supposedly the biggest in the country. Only the insanely rich percentage of people here can go in and gamble” he recalled. “It was in the middle of being built when I worked for them, but I guess they’ve been in full operation for a year or so now.” 

“So, we go there, casually find Woori and tell her that her mother’s looking for her?” Changmin glanced at him. 

“Yes, and no,” he replied. “Security’s obviously very tight in that joint. Almost everyone that goes there is armed, and if I know Myungjun well enough, we’ll have to play our way to get to him. Does anyone know any card game?” 

“I’ve played blackjack before, with Hyuk” Mirae said. “We went to a small casino before just for fun, and I remember he did very well, but then I also know why” she shrugged. 

“Yoojung mentioned that the sharks have another thing of hers, they’re probably using that” Changmin mentioned. 

“What kind of thing?” Juyeon asked this time. “Jewels? Gold? Money?” 

“A combination of all three,” Younghoon suddenly recalled. He remembered seeing Yoojung lock a room that had her personal collection of diamonds and other treasure. “She’s got one big vault in her house.”

“Wow. They’re greedy” Mirae frowned. 

“Yeah, Yoojung’s that greedy too, but that’s what we’ll have to do for her. The sharks also own this Japanese-style restaurant that’s within the high-end district, Sky Sushi’s what it’s called” Younghoon revealed. 

“Sky Sushi, I’m guessing Sejeong has some of her personal cronies running it if it’s Japanese” Mirae deduced, and he nodded. “They’re funding it with the drug money, aren’t they?” Younghoon nodded again. 

“Why do I feel like we’re walking into a trap of some kind” Changmin muttered. He was beginning to feel unsettled. “Like we’re being lured to our deaths by taking this case on?” 

“I don’t think Yoojung wants private detectives, I think she wants mercenaries, assassins or something” Mirae frowned. 

“It is exactly what she wants us to be” Younghoon pointed out. 

The metal-bender shrugged. “As long as she’s paying us, we should just do what we have to do.” 

“Yeah, we put up Bermuda Investigations for a reason, we can’t back down” Juyeon agreed. “How much did she pay us?” he then asked curiously. 

“Millions, and I mean millions” Changmin replied. 

“Enough for us to make rent for the next few years,” Younghoon added. Juyeon gaped. “So where do you think we should go first? The casino? Or Sky Sushi?” He asked them. 

The three boys ended up looking at Mirae. “What?” She asked mid-bite. “What are you looking at me for?” 

“Babe,” Younghoon began, and she turned a shade of pink. Juyeon and Changmin chuckled in amusement at her reaction to the pet name. “You’re the most experienced here, from the four of us right now, you lead and we’ll follow.” 

“First of all, don’t call me babe, not while anyone else is in the room,” She muttered under her breath. “Secondly, we can split up and search both places. Juyeon and Changmin can go ahead to the casino, you and I will go to the restaurant. If everyone’s armed in the casino, Changmin’s in his element. That’s also where most of Yoojung’s money and treasures will probably be kept” she explained. 

Juyeon and Changmin hit high fives. “What about both of you?” the metal-bender asked. 

“Sejeong’s personal army will most likely fight with knives, perhaps given their nature, and hand to hand combat. If they know who I am, they’ll think twice before swinging a mace or a katana towards me or Younghoon” Mirae replied. 

Changmin suddenly raised a brow. “I hope it’s okay for me to ask, but when you were trained, you were trained to use all kinds of weapons?” He asked carefully. 

Mirae paused eating to think. “I-I don’t know. I guess” she shrugged. “I’ll try and see for myself later. I turned the last apartment down the hall into a training room” she said. 

The three boys stared at him. “You did what?” Juyeon asked. 

“I turned the last apartment down the hall into a training room” Mirae repeated. 

“But how? How did you pay for that?” Younghoon asked. 

 

She smiled. “The landlord died and passed ownership to me, so I’m the landlady too” she replied. 

“Babe! You didn’t even tell me this?! We’ve been giving you money this whole time?!” Younghoon was surprised. 

“That’s right, but in my defense, I used the rent money you gave to remodel that apartment. Now everyone can use it” She said. 

Juyeon laughed in amusement. “So, does this mean you can teach us how to fight?” He asked. 

“Maybe, but it’s also for me. I think my fighting skills are getting rusty” She said. 

~ 

Later that night, Mirae stood in front of the dummies in the training room she had built. There were displays of various weapons including her staff. “Whichever you choose, you remain the weapon” she heard Miran’s voice in her head. 

“The assassin you are made out to be,” She heard Changseok’s voice as well. “You are what we made you.” 

Mirae shook her head, and started to hit, kick, and punch the dummies in front of her. “I am not, an assassin” she muttered, her eyes and fingertips suddenly glowing red when she kicked the head off of the dummy. 

“We made you strong” She heard Miran say again. 

“No, I made me strong,” She said, rounding on the other dummy. “Not you, me. I already had these powers before you turned me into this” She flipped and kicked the dummy again. Doing a little somersault, she took the sai from the shelves and threw it towards the dummy, piercing both the head and the chest. 

Mirae grabbed the bow and an arrow and aimed it at the dummy again, shooting an arrow square on the dummy’s head. “You know how to use every weapon we give you, you are unstoppable” Changseok’s whispers filled her head. 

“If I do, I will use it for good” She shot another arrow, making it go through the previous one. Mirae threw aside the bow and took the wakizashi sword and sliced the head off. “I made me strong, my friends make me okay, Younghoon makes me happy” She said to herself. 

She heard the door open, and from the reflection on the window, it was Juyeon. She turned around. “Mirae?” he said. 

“Hmm? I was just-” she looked at the mess she made. “Training. What’s up?” 

Juyeon stepped inside and closed the door. He was in awe of the setup of the apartment. It had everything they needed to learn. “I just wanted to check out the room. I wish I could’ve seen you spar, but it looks like you just did” he chuckled. 

“Yeah, and now we need new dummies for the three of you” She said, kicking the heads around. She glanced at Juyeon. “If you’re up for learning now, I can teach you now” she added. 

His eyes lit up and he smiled. “Really? Well yeah, I’m up for learning now” he eagerly went up to her. 

“Then the first thing you need to know is how to throw a punch” She said. “You do know how to throw a punch right?” she held up her hands in front of him. “Go on, I’m sure I can take it. No powers though” she reminded him. 

“Yes, yes, no powers” Juyeon assured her. 

~ 

She returned to her apartment and got ready for bed. As she entered her bedroom, she saw Younghoon sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space. Mirae took the towel off her head and sat down next to him. “Whatever you’re thinking of, tell me” she said softly, wrapping her arms around him. 

He looked at her. “I’ve never felt so vulnerable before” he replied. 

“Vulnerable?” she raised a brow. 

Younghoon nodded. “I never really told anyone about this part of my past. Ino hyung knew, Sangyeon hyung knew, but that was because they’re telepaths, I can’t do anything if they read my mind or looked through my memories.”

Mirae pressed her hand on his cheek. “Telepaths can be very intrusive, but they can’t help it, they hear thoughts all the time. At least everyone else’s,” she said. “But you never planned on telling me this, did you?” she asked this time. 

He frowned slightly. “I..don’t know. I don’t know if I wanted to reveal that, or if I just want to keep that out of my life because that isn’t my life anymore,” he looked frustrated. “I blocked it out, made sure it was behind me, but it caught up with me.” 

Her hand moved down to his, and she held it. “Same.” 

Younghoon shook his head. “Your past didn’t stare you in the face like this.” 

Mirae gave him a look. “You forget how we met already? I was brought to the Center? The Utopian cult?” She squeezed his hand. Younghoon didn’t say anything. She stared at him. Younghoon only told her about how his powers came, and that he ran away from home when it happened, but what they found out today suddenly gave her a feeling of doubt as she realized that Younghoon didn’t completely trust her. “You know me well but I don’t seem to know you that well after all..” She sat closer to him. “I let you in, I hope you do the same for me.” 

Younghoon let go of her hand and cupped her face. “You are in. That was the past, this is now. I’m here with you right here, right now, after everything we’ve been through.” 

“But why does it feel like you’re hiding so much from me?” She asked, frowning as well. 

He couldn’t answer. “Mirae, there are some things we’re better off not telling each other. This was supposedly one of them.” 

She leaned away. “I told you everything about me though, even when I could have just kept it to myself. I could keep it to myself if I worried about what you’d think of me because I knew you liked me, but I didn’t. I laid it out there, thinking that I’d accept whatever you’d think of me, and yet to my surprise, you looked past this, looked past the dangerous things I’ve done, with or without the trigger” she explained. 

Younghoon felt his eyes welling with tears and he blinked a few times to hold it back. Mirae had a point. Even if she wholeheartedly trusted him, it seemed like he didn’t entirely do the same. “Just because you told me everything doesn’t mean I’m comfortable enough to do the same with you.” 

Mirae looked at him in disbelief. “So we’re just going to hide things from each other then?” she asked, looking away. He didn’t answer. “You were never really very comfortable with me, were you? Even when we sleep together almost every night, even when you see a lot more of me when we’re alone together-” 

“That’s-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that,” Younghoon spoke. “That’s not what I meant at all. You can’t expect me to just suddenly dredge up my whole past and tell you every single thing I did before I joined Summerland all at once. It’s not because I don’t trust you, but because I’m just not comfortable talking about it. There.” 

Mirae nodded. “Alright.” She didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t sure if she understood, but she respected what he thought. There was no use in forcing him to explain. “If ever that day comes, then.” She crawled into bed and lay down, covering herself with the blankets. 

Younghoon covered himself with the blankets as well. Mirae’s back was turned, and he knew she was trying to fall asleep. He inched closer to her, and carefully draped an arm around her waist to hug her from behind. She didn’t move, and he took it as a sign that he could be closer. “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t feel comfortable touching you like this, you know that” he whispered in her ear. 

“Really?” She muttered. She was still so confused, but she welcomed the way Younghoon was holding her. 

“Really,” he rested his chin on her shoulder. “I love you Mirae. Very much.” He whispered and kissed her ear. “I hope you know that” his lips brushed against her cheek. 

Mirae slowly turned to face him. “I know it, I’m just not sure if I feel it right now” she said. 

“I want you to feel it, the way you showed me when you first told me I couldn’t hurt you with my powers” he said. 

“How?”

Younghoon leaned over her and leaned in, pressing his cheek on hers. “Like this,” he said, moving a little so they were nuzzling. “And this” he captured her lips in a deep kiss. “I could go on if you’d let me right now” he murmured, resting his forehead on hers. 

Mirae shook her head slightly. She wasn’t in the mood after what they just talked about. “It’s okay, I’m a little tired” she said, closing her eyes for a moment. “Get some sleep. We’ve got work to do” she kissed his forehead and closed her eyes again, turning on her side to sleep. 

Younghoon nodded and closed his eyes as well. He still felt a little guilty for how things wound up between them earlier, for making her feel confused. He stayed close and began to drift off. As he was sound asleep, Mirae looked over at him slightly. “I love you too” She lightly pecked his lips and turned back on her side to sleep. 

~ 

“What’s going on with you?” Jihoon said the next day as Mirae walked with him to his university. There was still some tension hanging in the air between her and Younghoon, and she preferred to be away from him for a bit to allow some space. 

Mirae sighed. “Do you think Younghoon trusts me?” she asked. 

Jihoon looked taken aback. “What?” he was confused. “I don’t see a reason why he wouldn’t. Why?” he asked. 

Mirae explained their argument the night before, and when she was done, she sighed and looked down at their feet as they crossed the street. Jihoon looked sympathetic. “Now I can’t help but feel like I need to back off because of it. Younghoon doesn’t completely trust me, doesn’t he?” 

Jihoon tried to think of a way to word his thoughts properly. “Yes and no. On one hand, at least he’s good, and doesn’t do what the Sharks do anymore. On the other hand, I don’t think he does trust you completely because of the Sharks, you know? He spent an important part of his life trying not to trust anyone he gets close with and it’s obviously become different now that he’s with you,” he explained. “At least you backed off when he didn’t want to explain anymore. But I do think that he should learn to trust in you completely by telling you about that. What good’s a relationship when you two can’t be yourselves completely with each other?” 

“You are a lot wiser than you look, Park Jihoon” Mirae reminded him, linking their arms together as they walked. 

“It’s something I learned from years of living with you and from my lessons. Trust is essential” He said as-a-matter-of-factly. Jihoon gave Mirae’s arm a comforting squeeze. “He might also be worried about what you think of him once he reveals that part of his past, you know.” 

“I never judged him on that, though,” She said glumly. “I’d be a big hypocrite if I did” Mirae groaned in frustration. “I can’t understand him, I can’t understand myself right now too.”

Jihoon patted her arm. “If the four of you are taking on this case together, then you should put your relationship to the side first. The case is more important right now” he advised. “ And besides, if ever things end up not working out between the two of you, at least you always have me” 

Mirae smiled. “Until you find yourself a girlfriend, that is” she pointed out. 

He shook his head. “Not even then. We’ve always said that it’s always going to be the two of us, and that’s how it’ll stay.” 

She hugged his side as they walked. “Yeah, it’s always going to be you and me. We’ve gone through hell that is the sanitarium together, we got out of it somewhat together, and we’re going to be there for each other until the end, until both of us die” she said, and Jihoon smiled. 

Meanwhile, Younghoon talked to Changmin and Juyeon about the argument they had. The two boys stared at him when he finished. “What?” He asked. 

“To be fair man, she trusts you wholeheartedly. You know how devastated she was when you were kidnapped?” Juyeon asked him. “Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan had never seen her like that before, and they knew her longer and better than the three of us.” 

“Yeah,” Changmin added. “It seems like you don’t want to let her all the way in. Trust us when we say that she loves you so much, hyung.” 

“Yeah, she’d take a lot of bullets for you if it meant saving your life.” Juyeon recalled. 

Younghoon sighed and sat back on the couch. “I know.” 

“Would you do the same for her?” Juyeon asked. “If you say you love her that much, would you do the same for her if you could?” 

“Of course” He answered. “Of course I’d take a bullet for her. For her, I’d do anything.” 

“Why the doubt all of a sudden?” Changmin asked. 

He closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know. I guess seeing Yoojung again yesterday just brought every memory I had of back then back in front. I was always told not to trust anyone, to always watch my own back” He explained. 

Juyeon and Changmin exchanged looks. “We understand that, but you’re not with that gang anymore. You’re with us, with people like us, in Summerland. We don’t kill people and do bad things for profit” The metal-bender explained. “You’re not part of a group where you have to watch your own back in case someone betrays us. We’re a group founded on trust” He pointed out. 

“We all trust each other, because we’re also all we have, hyung,” Juyeon added. “And the fact that there’s no way one of us is going to betray anyone because Hyuk can read our minds, except Mirae’s that is, but she’s anything but a traitor.” 

Changmin sat up and inched forward. “Hyung, if you’re not comfortable talking to her about your past, when will you be comfortable to tell her?” he finally inquired. 

The question hit him. He didn’t want to keep her in the dark, but it was a time that he’d rather forget. “It’s not as easy for her to tell you what happened to her before either, you know,” Juyeon said. “Or at least I think it’s not as easy, she doesn’t really talk about it much, not even when we started training.” 

Younghoon and Changmin stared at him. “You two were training? She was training you?” Younghoon asked, unable to hide his surprise. 

“Yeah!” Juyeon beamed. “I saw her last night practicing and she said she could train me already if I was ready and I said yes” he answered. 

He frowned. “She’d train you but she wouldn’t train me” he grumbled. 

Changmin rolled his eyes at his reaction. “Hey, she’s always said you don’t need it since you’ve got super strength already” he pointed out. 

“Still!” Younghoon insisted. “She’d train Juyeon instead of me, her boyfriend!” 

Juyeon shook his head. “That has nothing to do with your relationship, hyung. She’s always said from the beginning that you never needed combat training” he repeated. 

Changmin stood up. “Hyung, you’re starting to get jealous, and I’m going to tell you this one time, please don’t. You’ve known Juyeon for a while, longer than when you knew Mirae. You’re getting stressed out because of this case, maybe you need to sit out” he suggested. 

“No” Younghoon said firmly, shaking his head. “No. We’re in this together, I’m sorry, I’ll try and stay calm, it’s just that- Mirae and I never fought before until now” he said. 

The two of them nodded. “There’s a first time for everything, but it doesn’t make you two any less of a couple. A lot of couples fight.” Changmin pointed out. 

Younghoon sighed. He can’t help but be frustrated. It was like his whole world was beginning to crumble and he didn’t know how to deal with it. He didn’t mean to push Mirae away, and he certainly didn’t mean to do the same to Changmin and Juyeon. He hated that of all people that would show up and ask for their help, it had to be Yoojung. Yoojung had to be their first client.


	2. A.k.a Restaurant Fights and First Times

That night, Mirae stepped out of her room, already dressed to leave. Jihoon was watching tv, eating takeout noodles. Things between her and Younghoon were still a little tense, but she took Jihoon’s advice to heart and decided to put their relationship to the side for the meantime while they were on the case.

“I’ll be back later. You know what to do” She said, watching him eat. 

“I will. If anyone tries anything, their faces are going to meet my fist” He said eagerly, sauce all over his mouth. 

Mirae laughed. “I don’t think you’d look menacing with all that on your face” she gestured to the sauce on his mouth and he wiped it off with a tissue. “I’ll do what you said, our relationship isn’t related to the case, I just hope it’s the same with him” she said quietly, taking her coat and staff, along with a deck of cards out of the shoebox she kept by the door and stepped out. 

She was feeling the usual anxiousness she felt whenever she was about to do something like this. It hadn’t been that long, but it was still a while since she fought or did something like this again. She saw the door of Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon’s apartment open, and her boyfriend stepped out, seemingly just as wary. The other two stepped out as well. “I was thinking about this, and I thought we might as well do this together, the four of us, I mean” Changmin said. 

“Yeah, just in case we get outnumbered or captured, what usually happens” Juyeon added. 

“We’d all look cooler too if it was the four of us all the time” Changmin beamed. 

Younghoon knew it was mostly for them to keep an eye on them in case they start arguing again. Mirae sighed in relief and nodded. They would spare them an awkward ride to the restaurant. “We’ll scan the area. Is there anything we need to know when we go to Sky Sushi?” She asked him. 

He nodded. “Sky Sushi’s got a lot of rich folk. Like crazy rich people, not just here in the country, but some even fly in just to be able to eat. The tables are booked months in advance, and the menu’s almost as much as the paycheck we got” he explained. 

“Then let’s never eat there ever again” Changmin suggested. 

“Then we’ll scan the place from outside or we could sneak in the back. No harm in doing that, right?” Mirae suggested. “Anyway, lets go” she said, and Juyeon and Changmin excitedly followed her down the stairs and to the car. 

This time, Juyeon was the one who drove, with Changmin in the passenger seat. Mirae and Younghoon sat in the back. “You think we’ll find Woori in the restaurant?” Changmin asked, looking over at them from his seat. 

“Maybe, maybe not. She’s a bit of a rebel from what I remember her to be” Younghoon recalled. “She rotates between boyfriends, they’re all in an anything but monogamous relationship. I think she’s dating everyone in Sejeong’s personal army.” 

“Including you back then, huh?” Mirae suddenly commented, and Younghoon glanced at her. 

Juyeon and Changmin looked over at both of them, as if waiting for him to reply. “Yes, including me, but that was back then, not now” He explained. 

“Wow, how she managed to date you without touching you’s a feat on its own” Mirae commented, looking out the window. 

Younghoon looked frustrated. “Look, I know you’re still mad at me for not telling you but-” 

“But what? Because you’re not completely comfortable with me, you don’t really trust me!” Mirae couldn’t help but raise her voice. 

“Hey hey hey! Please, you two!” Changmin suddenly said. “Can we save the lovers’ quarrel for later? Maybe when this case is over? Don’t make us put you two on a time out” He said. 

Mirae sat back and looked out the window. She can’t help but feel the way she was feeling. She wanted to put their relationship aside for the case, but whenever Younghoon brought something up about his past now, she can’t help but be annoyed and frustrated. 

“The last thing we need is the two of you fighting, not now, please. We’ve all been through a lot over the past year or so,” Juyeon spoke this time. “Please, both of you” he urged them. “Okay, to make it better for everyone, I’ll go with Mirae while Younghoon hyung goes with Changmin. Good?” he suggested. 

“Why are you going with Mirae?” Younghoon suddenly shot. 

“Why can’t he go with me?” Mirae shot at him. 

“Why can’t I go with her?” Juyeon asked. 

Changmin and Juyeon both rolled their eyes. “Hyung! You’re seriously onto that again? Fine, if you’re jealous of Juyeon, I’ll go with Mirae, better?” The metal-bender asked. 

“Yes, much better, thank you” Younghoon replied. Mirae shook her head disapprovingly and looked out the window. 

“Good, it’s settled. Can we think about the case now?” Juyeon asked. 

“Yes” Younghoon and Mirae replied in unison, before glancing at each other in surprise. 

The two boys in front sighed and sat back. “You know, both of you have had this kind of tension for a while, even before we took on a case. Have you two tried to find a waay to let go of that tension?” Changmin suddenly asked. 

“How exactly?” Mirae raised a brow. 

“You know, it just seems like you two need a lot more time...alone...together…” Changmin suggested. Juyeon raised a brow at his comment in confusion, so did Younghoon and Mirae. “I mean, you know, do stuff that couples do when they’re alone...together…? Behind closed doors?” 

The two of them caught on with what he said and stared at him, Juyeon looked a little flustered at the thought when he figured it out. “Ji Changmin, are you really suggesting that we do that?” Younghoon was in disbelief. “It’s not like we have-” He stopped when Mirae slapped his arm. “Hey!” 

“What Younghoon and I do during those times is our business…” Mirae replied, glancing at her boyfriend. “

“Whoa, sorry I suggested that then” Changmin looked apologetic in his seat. Juyeon could only sigh as he kept driving, and they were arriving in the more upscale districts of the city. They stopped in front of what looked like a tall house. “Sky Sushi, we’re here” He said. 

They saw the cars surrounding them that were parked. All of them were luxury vehicles, from Audi models to Bentleys, Rolls Royces, and Lamborghinis. It made their car stand out from the bunch. They even saw small crowds of what looked like couples and families, all of them undoubtedly among the elite and entering the establishment. “I realize we’re all very underdressed” Mirae commented softly, leaning over Younghoon’s side to take a look. 

Younghoon sat up and stared at the group of five people that were about to enter. “That’s them!” he pointed, making the three of them look. The five people were walking in front of a young woman, who looked especially uninterested in everything. “That’s her” He muttered. 

“We’ve found them” Changmin said. “Let’s hope there’s a back entrance and a way to the office, that’s probably where they keep some of Yoojung’s treasures, right?” 

“Mhmm. Changmin and I go up front, both of you go to the back. We’ll pass ourselves off as one of the couples on the list or something, let’s see, Mr. Nakamoto and Ms. Mizuhara? Japanese high society couple” Mirae explained, looking through her phone for the copy of the guest list she found through their special computer. “Can you speak Japanese?” 

“He doesn’t, I can” Juyeon said. 

“Can you?” Younghoon asked her. 

“I don’t need to, I think. Alright fine, hmm,” Mirae looked through the list again. “Mr. Ong Seongwoo and Ms. Cho Eunbi, what about that?” She suggested. 

“We can stick to the Japanese couple, if we talk, they’ll think we’re fluent enough that we sound like natives ” Changmin replied, and the two of them nodded. 

Juyeon parked the car nearest to the gate of the Sky Castle compound. It made him remember the Kang family mansion. It would have been abandoned by now, with rotting corpses littering the grounds and the floors. He turned off the engine and the four of them got out. “We’re really under dressed” Mirae said, looking down at her own outfit and then glancing at Changmin, Juyeon, and Younghoon. 

“We’ll be fine” Changmin assured her. Mirae signaled Juyeon and Younghoon to look for the back doors, while they pressed on towards the entrance. They linked arms as they approached the very tall and imposing figures of the bouncers. She noticed the slight creases on their jackets and pants pockets that they were armed, perhaps with guns and tasers. She glanced at Changmin, whom she could tell was feeling a lot of magnetic energy from the bouncers. 

“Nakamoto, Mizuhara, we have a table?” Mirae suddenly spoke. 

“Ah, hello, yes, we do have a table for you” The bouncers both bowed low to her and to Changmin, gesturing them to go inside where another tall and imposing figure, undoubtedly a handsome young man with sharp features. 

“Mr. Nakamoto, Ms. Mizuhara, it’s an honor to finally meet both of you at last” The figure suddenly talked to them in Japanese, and Mirae’s eyes widened slightly when she realized she could understand them. Changmin tried not to look like he couldn’t understand. 

“It’s an honor to be here as well. Please show us our table” Mirae suddenly spoke in fluent Japanese, and Changmin squeezed her arm in surprise. The figure led them down the hall and opened the door of the main restaurant, where a live band was playing and some of the pathways of the stairs were made up of stones in flowing water. 

~ 

Juyeon and Younghoon quietly walked down the street that led to the back entrance of the restaurant. Juyeon’s arms were already in their metallic form, while he was taking his gloves off bit by bit, the more they were becoming out of sight from the guards standing by. “You think they got in?” Younghoon asked. 

“They must have, otherwise we’d have to let them in” Juyeon replied as they approached the back door, hiding when a chef stepped out to dump a trash bag onto the dumpster. “There should be something in that, like what those gangs do in the movies” he said. 

“It’s possible,” Younghoon nodded and they crept closer. “Transport the drugs using garbage bags or something” he shrugged. “Mirae really trained you?” 

“Don’t start with that again, hyung,” Juyeon said. “Don’t you remember during the Bermuda mission? She was talking to me and Kevin about training us to fight, and she’s always said you don’t need it.”

He sighed. He did remember, and he knew Juyeon was right. “Okay, okay, I’ll drop it.” 

When the door closed, they went towards the dumpster, stepping back at the foul stench of garbage. “Wait, is it worth it?” Juyeon covered his nose, so did Younghoon. 

“You do it” Younghoon nudged him. 

“Why me? Why don’t you do it?” Juyeon asked. 

“Because one of us has to be on the lookout” Younghoon whispered. 

Juyeon shook his head, cringing at the thought as his metallic arm reached for the top garbage bag and ripped it open. Piles and piles of fishbones spilled out and Juyeon backed away quickly before it could get to him. “Ugh, hyung, next time, you get your hands dirty” He said. 

The two of them approached the door and Younghoon opened it slowly. “When they attack, we have to attack too” He said. 

“Okay” Juyeon agreed and they stepped inside. All the chefs were looking at them, including the cleaning staff. Younghoon nudged him to speak. “We’re-we’re new, we just got hired” he said in Japanese. 

The chefs all nodded and continued doing their work. One custodian stared at them. “You look familiar, have I seen you before?” He asked, staring at Younghoon in particular. 

He shook his head. “I just have that kind of face, that makes people think I remind them of someone” he explained quickly. 

The custodian shook his head and kept pointing at him. “No, no, you look very familiar, like I’ve met you before, who are you? What’s your name?” he asked. 

Younghoon paused for a brief moment, trying to think of a name. “I’m-I’m Hwang Minhyun, Hwang Minhyun” he replied quickly. Juyeon tried not to look surprised. 

“Minhyun? Hwang Minhyun? It’s funny, you have the exact same name as one of the guests who came in, with his wife” The man said to him, his expression began to stiffen. 

“This is Korea, a lot of us have the exact same names, you forget, ahjussi” Younghoon replied. 

The man shook his head. “Kim Younghoon, it is you, you don’t remember me already? That’s a pity” He said. “I thought you were left for dead. The boss isn’t going to like this at all.” 

Younghoon and Juyeon exchanged looks, and as the latter transformed completely into metal, the rest of the chefs took out knives and guns from under the cabinets and compartments. “Guess not” He said, the two of them poised to attack. 

One of them came running and the two boys punched him out of the way. “And then I thought we were really just going to be sneaky” Juyeon sighed and knocked several others down. 

~ 

Changmin and Mirae were shown to the table, the servers pouring glasses of sake for them while the appetizers and the courses were being brought out bit by bit. “It feels wrong to eat someone else’s food, don’t you think?” The metal-bender said, looking at the spread before both of them. 

“Then let’s not touch anything, the real couple may show up here at any minute, anyway, we have to be quick,” Mirae looked around, staying alert in case anything happened. “We could try and check the kitchen for anything, pass ourselves off as health inspectors” she took out a notepad from her bag. 

“Good idea” the metal-bender agreed, poking at the sashimi platter in front of him. 

The two of them got up, only to be stopped by a woman with small eyes and a bob haircut. Behind her was another woman. “Hello Mr. Nakamoto, Ms. Mizuhara, I’m Shin Sejeong, it’s very nice to meet you” She said in Japanese. 

Changmin tried not to look surprised once again and took in a breath before smiling. “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you at last” Mirae spoke, shaking her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about what you’ve done here in Korea, so we flew in to see for ourselves” 

Sejeong smiled. “Well, word does get around, and critics are loving Sky Sushi, we only employ the very best chefs to create the dishes we serve here” She said, as if having rehearsed it so many times. Changmin tried his best to pretend like he understood, smiling alongside Mirae. 

“It certainly lives up to the hype, given how tables are booked months in advance. We’re just glad we got one at this time” Mirae replied. 

“Oh, how are you enjoying your meal?” Sejeong asked, peeking to the side to see their table. “It seems like you haven’t touched your food, my apologies. Is there anything wrong?” She asked. 

“No, nothing’s wrong, we were about to ask someone from the management to see if a private room could be booked. My boyfriend and I are getting married soon” Mirae replied with a smile, holding Changmin’s hand. 

Sejeong looked surprised. “Oh really? I’d like to extend my congratulations. I’ll direct you to my assistant manager, Moon Gunghwa, she’ll tell you everything about what Sky Sushi has to offer about private rooms. Please sit down, and enjoy” she gestured to the woman behind her before walking off. 

They heard the sound of crashing coming from one of the rooms, making the two of them look up. “What’s that?” Mirae asked, even though she had an idea what it was, so did Changmin. 

“Oh no, please don’t mind the sudden noise, it’s nothing, it’s the chefs trying to wrestle the fish we catch daily to keep it down,” Gunghwa answered. “So, you were asking about private rooms? We’ve got an executive room, which is usually for business meetings, the second biggest room is-” 

A louder crashing was heard, making some of the guests turn to look. “It seems like something is wrong” Mirae commented in Japanese. 

“Ah, well, someone is already checking on the disturbance-” Gunghwa replied, but just then, they saw a man being flung across the room, crashing onto a pillar. The guests stood up, hurriedly leaving in a frenzy as Younghoon and Juyeon burst out of the kitchens, trying to fight off the other chefs that were onto them. 

Mirae and Changmin exchanged looks and got up, trying to mix into the crowd and fend off the others that were attacking the two boys. “What happened?!” Mirae asked the two of them, her eyes already glowing as she knocked out the one holding a pair of shears towards her. The knives flew out of the hands of the attackers, and the four of them were left taking them on. 

“They recognized Younghoon” Juyeon replied, strangling the others, who staggered and fell upon kicking his metal form. 

Mirae blocked a chef from trying to stab Younghoon with a skewer, the metal stick piercing through her arm. She let out a groan and took the skewer out of her arm before stabbing the chef on the shoulder. 

“Thanks” He said. 

Mirae didn’t answer and instead threw a few cards onto the oncoming staff that were trying to attack them, the cards exploding in their places. She took out her staff and blocked another attempt at attacking Younghoon with a cleaver. “Get away from my boyfriend” She said, punching and kicking the attacker. She noticed Changmin get caught in an arm lock while a few others punched him. 

She grabbed the arm of one staff member that was holding a seraded knife and stabbed the neck of the staff member that had Changmin in an arm lock. Blood squirted out, splattering some on both of them. 

“Mirae” Younghoon called out, spotting a bouncer holding an electric baton and broke his arm in time, knocking him out. 

She turned around, seeing what happened. “Thanks” she muttered, before fighting off the rest again. 

“Oh, it’s safe to say we’re not allowed here anymore, so would be that Nakamoto and Mizuhara couple” Changmin said, holding off the rest of them by pointing their weapons against them. “Come on!” He said, and the four of them ran out through the back. 

~

“So, we’re in big trouble, very big trouble. You think they alerted the police?” Juyeon asked as he drove them back. He pressed a button that changed their car’s appearance, a feature Junhong placed in all of the cars in Summerland and even back in the days of the Center. 

“How? Cops are as dirty as they are, except for those detectives we know” Younghoon said. He was sporting a few cuts on his face and arms. 

Mirae’s jacket and pants had little rips as well, and a small blood stain on her shirt, marking where she was once wounded. “Even the detectives are caught in the middle, I’m afraid we have to think of this case like any other mission we’ve done before” she said, looking out the window. She suddenly felt Younghoon’s hand on hers, holding it tightly, making her look. She squeezed his hand and looked out the window again. 

“We need to contact Yoojung again, tell her what’s happened to us” Changmin suggested, leaning back from his bloody nose. “I guess we have to check the casino again, maybe in disguise too” He added. 

“Or the way we did with the Kang family” Juyeon chimed in. “Snuck in through the back” 

“That only works if Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Jaehwan were helping us,” Mirae pointed out. “They’re not here, we’re on our own” she explained. 

“So far, what have we learned?” Younghoon asked, looking at her. 

“We met Sejeong. She doesn’t seem to recognize us, we passed ourselves off as an engaged couple because we wanted to see the private rooms” Mirae began, making Changmin gape at her. 

“Oh, so that’s what you said!” He nearly exclaimed. 

“What do you mean that’s what she said?” Younghoon looked confused. 

“Mirae knows how to speak Japanese!” Changmin replied. 

The three boys stared at her. “I didn’t know I could speak it either! I was surprised when I understood after we gave the names and those people started talking to us” She explained. 

“Was that, part of what they trained you for?” Juyeon asked carefully, turning a corner. 

“I don’t know, I guess” Mirae shrugged. “I didn’t know I could understand it but the moment they started talking, I was surprised that I suddenly could…” She frowned. 

“They really tried to turn you into an assassin,” Younghoon said, a look of concern over his face. “Who knows what other languages you can speak” 

“Yeah, I’d rather not think about that, I’m just as surprised as all of you” Mirae shook her head. “Anyway, what about you two?” 

“We weren’t able to get a lot of information at all. We tried looking through a garbage bag in case Bumsoo and the others decide to use that as a way to transport drugs, but that didn’t work,” Juyeon explained. “It’s safe to say we can’t go back there” 

“Safe is an understatement” Changmin said. “Casino tomorrow?” 

“Yeah” The other three agreed. 

“But we need a floor plan of that restaurant. We weren’t able to see if they hid the treasures anywhere. I think the gang must’ve left quickly when the fighting came through” Mirae said. 

“Should we tell Yoojung yet?” Juyeon asked. 

She shook her head. “No, not until we get results. We can’t tell her we tried to snoop around the restaurant and came back with nothing” she replied. 

“We’ll look using the computer at the office” Younghoon suggested. “We’ve got a lot of stuff up there, don’t we?” 

“Yep, and we’ve got physical files of almost everything we need in the file cabinets” Mirae nodded. She looked down at her arm, at the spot where a skewer went through it, noticing spots of dried blood around it. Younghoon noticed it as well, and gently rubbed the spot, some of the dried blood coming off. They glanced at each other and looked out the window. 

~ 

Sejeong looked through the surveillance cameras in the control room, replaying the footage of the brawl that happened. “Silly rabbits” she muttered, watching the four people fight. She looked closer. “Kim Younghoon is alive. Gunghwa,” She called out. 

Gunghwa appeared next to her. “Yeah?” she asked. 

“We’ve got imposters and intruders in the restaurant earlier. But no matter, police won’t take this seriously. Inform Myungjin and the others about what happened, tell them to keep an eye on these four people” she said. 

She nodded and left the room. 

Sejeong turned back to the footage. “Bumsoo will be so glad to see you again, Younghoon.” 

Gunghwa returned. “They are now aware, and,” she held up a phone. “Bumsoo wants to speak to you” she said. 

Sejeong took the phone from her. “Yeah?” she asked. 

“Younghoon is alive” Bumsoo spoke in a very cold tone. 

“Yes, he is. I’m replaying the security footage, it’s definitely him. Only he’s not alone” Sejeong replied. 

“Which is why I must tell you to be careful. He’s got a mind for revenge by now, and for Woori, that I’m sure of. You need to be prepared because you’re the first obstacle he will have to conquer along with his,” He paused. “Friends.” 

“He’s no longer the only one with special abilities” Sejeong remarked. 

“With special abilities comes predictability, despite having an advantage. He’ll want to come for you first as you attacked him first before. Jungah might want to go after you too, if she even made it out alive” Bumsoo replied. 

She shook her head. “Impossible, you shot her point blank” 

“There are people who survive bullets to the head, my dear Sejeong-ah,” Bumsoo replied. “Be careful with Younghoon, or else I’ll have to attend your funeral.” He hung up. 

Sejeong looked at the footage again. “Oh I will. Younghoon should be careful too.” 

~

They arrived back in the building come midnight, separating to freshen up and call it a day. “Let’s meet at the office tomorrow” Changmin said to the three of them before opening the door of their apartment. 

“We can train again some other time, I think I’m a little worn out from earlier. You did well though” She said to Juyeon, who just smiled and waved as he followed the metal-bender and Younghoon inside, the door closing behind them. 

Mirae crept inside her apartment, seeing Jihoon sleeping on the couch. She put her staff to the side and covered him with the blanket and cleaned up the empty potato chip bags and empty cups on the coffee table. She still had to prepare Jihoon’s lunch for class the next day. 

She took a shower, trying to wash the blood off of her side and the stains on her leg. It was another day where she found something new about herself. She could speak another language. What Younghoon said struck her as well. She didn’t just know how to fight, she knew how to speak other languages too. It meant she could hide in plain sight if she wanted to, go undercover. 

They really turned her into an assassin. 

“I wish Hyuk was here,” she sighed. “He’d know what to do. I don’t know what I should do” she said to herself. 

She knew that they couldn’t always take on all the cases, all the missions together, but it didn’t make her miss them any less. She worked better in a group rather than leading one, even if she knew how to fight and how to defend everyone she was with. It seemed like they had reached the point where they could lead other people like them into doing what they did, to use their powers for the benefit of everyone, especially those who weren’t gifted with extraordinary abilities like them. 

It made her remember what Hyuk said to her when they arrived at the memorial nearly two years ago. Whether she would choose to become what she was turned into or not was up to her, and she knew she wasn’t going to be like that. 

She wasn’t going to be what Miran and Changseok tried to turn her into, even if she had the skills. She would never be what they want. 

She laid out her stained and torn clothes on her bed. She had to sew the rips and tears up. Mirae sat down and started sewing some of the rips on her jeans back together. She heard the front door open, and she got up, putting down the needle and thread. Rushing to the door, she saw Younghoon, hair wet from the shower and wearing pajamas, the cuts still evident on his face and arms. He looked a little reluctant, almost like he should have rang the doorbell first or knocked. It had become a habit, knowing what the passcode was to her apartment. 

“Younghoon?” Mirae said. 

“Mirae” He replied. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you’d be resting by now” 

“I just-I just wanted to ask if you had the first aid kit?” He said. 

“Yeah, I do. I had to put one together when Jihoon started coming home with cuts and bruises from his lessons,” She said, turning around. “Stay in my room, Jihoon’s sleeping on the couch” she looked over at him before padding towards the bathroom. 

The tension was still there between them, despite holding hands earlier and saving each other during the brawl at the restaurant. Younghoon sat down on the edge of her bed, feeling the fabric of the clothes she wore earlier, and the needle and thread that were trying to connect the little rips. This was, once again, more than the two of them. Their pasts were somewhat catching up to them. 

Mirae came back, holding the kit and knelt down in front of him, applying antiseptic on the wounds. “Mirae,” he watched her tend to his cuts. “I’m sorry for what I said” he whispered, lips forming into a slight pout. He hissed a little when it stung. 

She looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry too” she said, opening the packets of band-aids and placing them on the cuts on his arms. “It still stands. Whenever you feel like talking about what happened before, I’m just here, and all ears” she said softly, running her thumb along the band-aid on his arm. 

“I said those things in a moment of panic. It just felt like everything I knew was crumbling down,” He said softly, taking her hand in his, running his thumb over her fingers and knuckles. “I knew we were in trouble the moment that custodian recognized me when Juyeon and I went through the back, to the kitchen. It looks like those chefs are part of Sejeong’s Dangerous Eight, or Dangerous Eighty Eight is more like it” he said, hissing again when Mirae let go and placed a band-aid on the cut on his face. 

She nodded, her fingertips touching his face. “I understand, I actually really understand where you’re coming from,” she said, pressing a soft kiss over the band-aid and resting her forehead on his. Her eyes were welling with tears. “I really do understand. I know how you feel, and for a moment earlier, I thought I was going to lose you over something like this” she whispered. 

Younghoon could feel tears in his eyes as well, and he wiped hers. “I thought I was going to lose you too. I’m sorry I suddenly got jealous over you training Juyeon. I know it’s not something I should be jealous about, he’s even been trying to tell me so many times earlier today and yesterday but-” 

Mirae shook her head and put a finger to his lips. “That’s nothing. What’s important is that we’re still together even after that,” she said. “I love you, Kim Younghoon. Always.”

“I love you too, Lee Mirae, always,” He said and kissed her. He pulled her up off the floor and placed the needle, spool of thread, and her torn clothes on the bedside table. “I love you too” He said as he kissed her again, laying her down on the bed. 

She pulled away a little. “Younghoon, are you thinking it’s time to…?” she asked, her hand on his cheek. 

“I-I guess?” He said, turning a shade of pink. “I mean, are you? Ready, I mean?” He whispered. He wasn’t sure if he was ready as well. “I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t know if what we’ll end up doing is going to hurt you, you know?” His lips brushed hers. “I’m ready if you’re ready” 

“We’ve really slept in the same bed but we’ve never done that…” Mirae commented, feeling her cheeks heat up. “Is it really like this when two people who are in love have never done it before?” 

“I think so...” He nodded slightly, and kissed her again. They shifted until they were properly lying down, and he leaned over her, one leg between hers, while their kisses got deeper and more intense. 

“I guess it is with us” She whispered. 

“Yeah” 

Mirae wrapped an arm around his neck, and he started to pull away, peppering her cheek and down her neck with more soft kisses. This was usually the farthest they went together, but at that moment, it felt like the time was right. They were already nearing two years into their relationship. “Are you ready?” she whispered breathlessly, blushing and her breath hitching when he kept kissing her neck. 

Younghoon pulled away to look into her eyes. “I think I am” he said. “You?”

That was the assurance she needed. “Me too” she said and with a soft smile, he leaned back in. 

~ 

Daylight crept into the windows of the bedroom. Mirae opened her eyes. She was curled up on her side, feeling a lot better, much better than her sullen mood the previous day. She noticed their clothes strewn on the floor next to the bed, socks included. She smiled to herself, but the embarrassment soon crept in as she covered herself even more. 

She hadn’t felt this...bare before. But as of last night, Younghoon had seen her...all of her, and it was the same for her when she saw him through the dim lights. 

She thought about what they did the night before. It wasn’t as awkward as she thought it would be, for people experiencing their first time doing what they did. It felt good. It felt right, regardless of how long they had been dating. It even felt like a mistake if she did it with anyone else before Younghoon, to be exact. 

Mirae slowly looked over her shoulder. Younghoon was sleeping soundly next to her, undoubtedly just as naked as she was, his jet-black hair a mess and matted. 

She turned to face him and closed her eyes again. She didn’t want to think about the case for now. It could wait, and they had days to go. For a moment, she wanted to focus on them, on their relationship. She was glad they took Changmin’s advice. It surprisingly helped them a lot. 

Younghoon stirred and woke up, a smile creeping up on his face as he immediately thought of what they did. Mirae opened her eyes as well upon hearing him. “Good morning” she said. 

His smile grew wider. “Good morning” he said, shifting closer to her, overcome with so much affection. “How did you sleep?” 

“I slept…” She paused to think, smiling at her realization. “Very well, the best sleep I’ve ever gotten in a very long time. What about you?” 

“I slept just as well too,” He said, pulling her close. “You didn’t have nightmares last night, that’s the important thing” He kissed her forehead. 

Mirae blushed. “Well, after what happened last night? There was no time for nightmares, we got tired” she pointed out with a cheeky grin. 

Younghoon laughed, his voice a little husky. “You’re right, there wasn’t time for that” He said, looking at her. “You’re lovelier this morning than you’ve ever been, if it was even possible.” 

“I love you” Mirae said softly. 

“I love you too” He said. “Each and every bit of you, including your invisible scars, and that streak of white hair you’ve got going on since the Bermuda mission” 

Mirae pulled the covers up to her face, with only her eyes being seen. “You’re going to make me blush so hard today” 

Younghoon grinned. “That’s the idea” he said, and leaned over her again to kiss her. 

“That wasn’t as awkward as I thought. I heard first times can be awkward” She said softly. 

He hummed in thought. “It must be because we love each other. Doing what we did felt very right, now that we’ve done it, it makes me think why haven’t we done this months ago, or more than a year ago?” He mused. 

Mirae gently poked his nose. “Because you were still scared of your powers then, even when we first started out, after the Bermuda mission, remember?” 

“I can recall, yes” He grinned. “But you were patient with me. I’m still scared though, but you were patient.” 

“Because I knew you couldn’t hurt me,” She pointed out. “And also, it’s one of my abilities. I’m the only one that can touch you, hold your hand, without you accidentally sucking the life out of me, or my powers” She teased. 

Younghoon laughed. “That’s true. We’ve proven it so many times since then. Ah, how lucky am I to have someone who’s like that with me” he ran a hand through his hair. 

“I’d say I’m the lucky one, to find someone like you” Mirae smiled. “I think we should get up and get ready to meet Changmin and Juyeon at the office.” 

He shook his head. “A few minutes more and we can do that, for now, I just want to stay like this” he said softly. “I love you” 

“I love you too” She smiled. 

At that moment, Younghoon felt utterly and divinely happy, as did Mirae. They took another step forward in their relationship, gotten rid of the invisible barrier that stopped them from going any further upon taking Changmin’s suggestion to mind.


	3. A.k.a Casino Heists

Mirae stood outside TRBL Music that afternoon. The case she had to take on seemed overwhelming, and she needed to see her best friend, Kwon Hyuk, a powerful telekinetic, who decided to take a step back from being a singer to produce music for the company instead so he could also work with Mirae in Bermuda Investigations. He suddenly appeared from the elevator and waved her over, the mini-entrance opening when she came closer. “Hey” She said, giving him a big hug. “It’s been a while since I last saw you” 

Hyuk smiled. “Same could be said of you. I heard you took on a case” he led her to the company cafeteria, where they saw Jiho paying for his tray of food. Jiho waved over at them before seating himself down at the corner table nearest to a conference room. 

“I did. It’s really not the same without you with me, though” She said, a little hesitant when Hyuk gestured for her to get food as well. “You’re on one too, right?” 

“Yep. I’ve always known we’re working in a shady industry, I recently found out just how shady it really is” Hyuk said, handing her a bottle of iced tea and paying for both their meals. He always had a tendency to beat her into paying for both their food first. 

Mirae tucked into her food and glanced at him. “Younghoon and I had our first fight when we took this case on,” she said quietly. The telepath stared at her, and she knew he wanted her to explain. “Our first client just so happens to be a very old colleague of his, she wanted us to find her daughter and get back her, treasures” she whispered the last part, so no one else would hear. 

Hyuk frowned slightly. “Yeah, I kind of had a feeling his past would catch up to him” he said. 

She raised a brow at him. “Kwon Hyuk, do you have a habit of looking into a person’s memories without asking them now?” 

He gave her a look. “It’s not like I want to look into those. People tend to really think loudly, it just resonates in my head. So, the daughter just so happens to be the girl he kissed when his powers first appeared, huh?” he said. She nodded. “You’ll practically be meeting his ex” he commented. 

“I know,” she said, picking at her food. “We kind of fought because he never told me anything about his past, he said he wasn’t comfortable talking about it to me, or even bringing it up at all, Jihoon said we should put our relationship aside for the case and Changmin even went as far as suggesting that we…” She turned a little pink. 

Hyuk squinted at her, trying to figure it out. “You’re the only person whose mind I can’t read right now. What was he suggesting?” 

“He suggested that we….do it” Mirae replied, biting her lip afterwards. “When I mean it, I meant… it” she said, eyeing him. 

He figured it out, and let out a laugh. “Well, you two do what you have to do to keep your relationship going, just leave me out of the know” he sat back. “This means I’ll have to avoid Younghoon for a while so I don’t find out what you two have been up to” He made a face, and Mirae laughed. “You guys need a hand?” 

She shook her head. “You just do what you have to do with your case. I’ll..try and do this myself” she assured him. “I’ll be fine, Kwon Hyuk” she smiled. 

Hyuk watched her pick at her food. “I hope you are. It’ll get awkward meeting the ex. I haven’t seen you jealous yet, I wonder what you’re like” he teased, and she poked him with her fork in reply, making him laugh. 

“I’m not like that” She laughed. 

~ 

The four of them gathered around the computer that afternoon. “So we can rule Sky Sushi out of the list, and from what happened last night, it’s possible they now know who we are,” Changmin typed furiously onto the computer while Juyeon, Younghoon, and Mirae looked at every monitor. The metal-bender paused. “Any other ideas on where we can catch them?” he asked. 

“The casino’s our only bet. I know all the money and the treasures have to be there. Woori? I’m not so sure” Younghoon replied. 

“We’ll check that out tonight, if they haven’t put targets on our backs just yet” Mirae suggested. “The casino will likely be very high-end, if the restaurant’s up in Sky Castle” she added. 

“Oh it is. Cameras everywhere too,” Juyeon noticed the plans Changmin pulled up in one monitor. “Crazy rich people come in to gamble, eat, the works” he glanced at the three of them. 

“We’ll need to dress up undercover then,” Mirae said. “We still need some help on the inside” she said. 

Younghoon suddenly realized something. “Woong. He’ll help us for sure. I hope.” 

“Who’s Woong?” Changmin asked. 

“Woori’s brother. Unless we can hack into the security system to allow us to go inside” Younghoon looked at the panels and controls in front of Changmin. 

“It takes a computer genius to do that kind of thing, maybe we should call Junhong” Mirae suggested. “Or even Kevin or something” she shrugged. 

“The only other person nearest to us who could hack into these things is Hyuk, and he’s not even here” Juyeon said. 

“Then Woong it is” Younghoon said. “We just have to find him now.” 

“Where would he normally be?” Changmin asked, looking up at them. 

“He’d be in Sky Sushi during the afternoons, but he’s also an idol trainee the last I saw him” He replied. 

“Idol trainee?” Mirae raised a brow in thought. “He wouldn’t be part of Kang Entertainment would he?” 

“No, he’s a trainee somewhere else, a smaller agency” Younghoon shook his head. 

Changmin typed the name on the computer, all of them watching closely in case any detail showed up. When Younghoon pointed to the boy’s profile, they gaped at the name of the agency he was staying in. “TRBL Music?” They all said in surprise. 

“All this time, he was right under our noses. You think he was there when the Hounds went on a killing spree?” Juyeon asked. 

“No, it says he only joined a month ago, but he’s been part of three companies so far, including this one” Changmin read what was on the screen. “Fortunately, Kang Entertainment isn’t one of them. Should we pay him a visit?” he asked. 

“We could have Hyuk show us in,” Mirae agreed. “We don’t have much time, do we?” she said, and the three boys hummed in agreement as well. “Yoojung’s going to want updates. I guess we should contact her for now. She might find out we’re getting her son’s help in finding Woori and getting back what’s hers” she explained. 

“I’ll make the call” Younghoon turned to go back down to the offices. Mirae watched him walk off, and she couldn’t help but feel concerned. 

“Mirae, we’re just as concerned as you are” Juyeon assured her. 

“I know. Something just tells me this goes beyond just facing his past” She said quietly. 

Juyeon nodded. “Hey, I remember what the guy who recognized Younghoon said to him. He said he was supposedly left for dead… that was probably how he got away from the Sharks” he realized. 

Changmin looked up at them. “Left for dead? You mean they tried to kill him?” he asked. 

“That might be it” Juyeon nodded. “He’s never really mentioned that. You think he’s got a mind for revenge then?” 

Mirae sighed. “I don’t know. I hope he doesn’t, but at the same time I kind of hope he does. Yoojung stirred him up again, I hope this helps him close that part of his life.” 

“What about you?” Changmin suddenly asked, making her turn to him. “Are you okay? You’ve been so concerned about Younghoon” he explained. 

She nodded. “I will be. I’ve been telling myself that for a while.” 

“Younghoon said you’re still getting nightmares, remembering your past” Juyeon pointed out. 

Mirae looked at her hands. “I still get nightmares, yeah. I have trouble sleeping at night, but last night was different” she smiled at the two boys. “It’s the first night I slept very well.” 

“That’s good” The metal-bender nodded. “Wait a minute, Younghoon was with you last night, wasn’t he?” he asked. 

“Yeah, he tends to sleep with me in the middle of the night” She pointed out. 

The two boys exchanged looks, Juyeon however, looked a little confused while Changmin just laughed. Mirae gave him a look, figuring out what he was thinking. “Never mind, with or without my powers, I know you can kick my ass” He backed off, still snickering to himself while he looked at the monitors. 

“I don’t know what’s going on” Juyeon said. 

“Best not to, or you won’t be trained” Mirae patted his arm and went back down to the offices. She saw Younghoon sitting behind his desk, looking wistful. “You okay? Did you call her?” she asked. 

He nodded. “I can’t believe I have to face this again” he said, reaching out to hold her hand as she approached him. 

She leaned against the table. “Juyeon told me there was something the person who recognized you last night told you, you were left for dead or something” she said. “If it’s okay, I want to know what they meant by that?” 

Younghoon squeezed her hand. “There was a job they had to do, at this wedding chapel somewhere, and I was one of the guests. It was Jungah’s wedding to some guy. Little did I know, Bumsoo would order a hit on her, her groom, everyone, even me,” he began, pulling her closer. 

“She was pregnant even, to Bumsoo’s child. Myungjin was too fast, he tried to beat me up, even shot at me, and I saw him shoot her in the head. I thought I was going to die, until Ino appeared, fixed me up, and brought me to Summerland” He finished. 

“Yoojung knew she was pregnant, then?” Mirae asked. 

“Of course. Bumsoo never hid the fact he was cheating on her with Jungah, but she refused to let him go, saying that she’ll take everything from him when he dies” Younghoon explained. “It might as well be true.” 

She nodded in understanding. “If Jungah survived that shot to the head, she might be coming after all of them, maybe even you,” she said, bending down to wrap her arms around him. “Are you prepared for that possibility?” 

He nodded. “I have to.” 

“Whatever happens, I’ll be there with you” She assured him with a small smile. “I’ll be going into TRBL Music to visit Woong, you should probably come with me since you know him better” she said, and he nodded, getting up. 

As Mirae turned to leave, Younghoon grabbed her wrist. “Mirae,” he said. 

“Yeah?” 

He pulled her into a hug. “Nothing” He mumbled. 

~ 

That night, Younghoon and Mirae stepped inside TRBL Music. “I’m looking for Kwon Hyuk, is he in?” She asked the security. 

“Sorry miss, he just left” The security guard told her. 

“Will he be back?” She asked. 

“He’s gone for the day miss” The guard replied. 

The two of them turned around. Mirae took out her phone. There was still no message from Hyuk. She dialed his number again, trying to call him. “If he doesn’t pick up, we’ll have to see if Jiho’s around. I hope he is, Hyuk told me he practically lives in the studio” she said. 

Younghoon noticed the elevators open, and following behind Daehwi and Woojin was, as he had hoped, Woong. He was carrying his training bag, and was talking to the two of them. He now had very blonde hair. “Woong” he called out. 

The boy looked over at the mention of his name, and his eyes widened. Daehwi and Woojin also looked over at them, looking confused. Woong looked like he had seen a ghost. Mirae turned around. “He’s not picking up” she said, and paused when she noticed the way Younghoon looked at the boy. “Are you Woong?” She asked. 

He nodded. “I am. Why’s he here?” He gestured to the taller. “Mom said you died.” 

“Surprise surprise, I made it” Younghoon managed to speak. “We need to talk to you, it’s about your sister.” 

“Uh, Woong hyung, we’ll just go ahead with the lunch run, we’ll see you later” Daehwi and Woojin gestured to the entrance and Woong nodded. The two of them went ahead, passing by Mirae, who waved at them a little. 

Woong looked over at Mirae, a little starstruck and his face turning a little pink. “So-so, what about my sister? She’s missing again?” he asked. “Hi, I’m Jeon Woong, it’s nice to meet you” he held out his hand at her. 

Mirae shook his hand, a little confused at the gesture. “Nice to meet you too, I’m Lee Mirae” she replied. “So, you and Younghoon go way back” she added. 

“We do. He used to work for the family, but I don’t. I’m not interested in that kind of life. I became a trainee to get away from that” He explained in a hushed tone, eyeing Younghoon as he said it. 

“We’re not asking you for anything, we just want to talk” Mirae reasoned. “Is there someplace private that we can discuss this?” 

Woong gestured for them to go inside, signaling the security guards while he did it. Mirae and Younghoon followed him, the latter looking at Woong suspiciously. “We can talk in the conference room” He said. “Wait, Lee Mirae, oh, you’re Producer Kwon’s friend, aren’t you?” He looked over at her. 

“I am. Is he working on your debut or something? You are debuting, aren’t you?” Mirae asked. 

“Yeah, just got the news today. I’m debuting with Daehwi and Woojin” Woong beamed. “Along with two other guys too. Instead of Daehwi and Woojin staying a duo, they decided to put five of us together” He explained. 

“Congratulations” She smiled, and Younghoon noticed how he smiled extra wide at her words. 

“Hey, she’s my girlfriend” Younghoon remarked. 

“Whoa okay, I get it, sorry, she’s already taken by you. I can’t date right now anyway,” Woong opened the conference room door for them and they went inside. “So, what do you want to know? I haven’t been going home to my mom if that’s what you want to know.” He was quick to point out as they sat down. 

“That’s not what we’re going to ask,” Younghoon spoke. “We want to know if you can get us inside that casino Myungjun built. You know the one” he said softly. 

Woong suddenly looked uneasy, like he had been asked a question that was way too personal for his own liking. “That one? The Sphere?” he asked, and Younghoon nodded. “What for?” 

Mirae leaned forward to lower her voice. “Your mother put us on a case, not just to bring your sister back to her, but to also take back some of the treasure she owns” she explained. 

He rolled his eyes. “Typical. That’s all she wants. You should have more luck at Sky Sushi” He said. 

“We already tried Sky Sushi last night, and let’s just say we were ambushed” Younghoon said. “No doubt Sejeong would have us on a wanted list in that casino too, so we need to sneak in.” 

“And why do you think I can help you with that? That place is secured from top to bottom,” Woong said. “I’m just as clueless as both of you. Younghoon, between the two of us, and the pretty woman you have next to you, you’re the only one who would know the most likely way in” he muttered. 

“You can help us for the sole reason that you’re Bumsoo’s son. He’d probably have told you some ways to get in,” Mirae said. “Look, I know you’re debuting soon, so we don’t want you to get into any trouble by being seen over there, just tell us what you know and we’ll do the rest.” 

Woong looked at her, and then at Younghoon. “Alright, there might just be a way in. But this doesn’t get out, ever” he said. 

“Of course, I wouldn’t want Hyuk to know you got yourself into trouble. Just tell us how we can go inside that place without being noticed” Mirae urged. 

The boy took out a piece of paper and a pen from his bag. He began drawing what looked like a floorplan of the casino. “As Younghoon probably already knows, the Sphere is one of the biggest casinos, so that means security in every entrance imaginable, and I do mean every entrance, even the staff have to pass by security,” he began to explain. 

“It’s one huge dome and from the inside, it seems like a maze. There’s a secret entrance for the VIP guests, and when I say VIP I mean VIP, like politicians and royalty because some of those people fly in just to get a room there and be able to play,” Woong continued. 

“There’s a service entrance underground, where all the trucks and armored cars go through to deliver the food, ice, money, you name it,” He said. 

“That’s probably how they transport the drugs” Mirae glanced at Younghoon. “In the good old food trucks and armored cars.” 

Woong nodded. “You can go through the service entrance, got any police uniforms you can borrow? You’ll need disguises to go in” He finished. 

“We’ll figure that out. Unless you guys have a stylist that knows where to get uniforms” Mirae shrugged, and Woong shook his head. 

“What about those two detectives? Won’t they be able to lend us a few uniforms?” Younghoon turned to her. 

“Too risky, they’ll want to know what we’re up to” Mirae replied. “We need to think of a plan b. Thank you for the information” She said, and Woong smiled. 

~ 

“We’re really going to need help” Mirae said as the two of them returned to the office. Changmin looked up from the video he was watching on his phone. “How are we going to go inside?” 

“Inside the casino?” Changmin said, and they nodded. “Did you find Woong?” 

“We did, and he said the service entrance is the way to go” Younghoon replied. “Any idea on how we can get ourselves some police uniforms?” 

Changmin sat up, an idea forming in his head. “Hmm, maybe we don’t need those uniforms, we don’t need to be in disguise” he said. 

They gave him a look. “What?” 

“Are you two forgetting that we have powers?” Changmin raised a brow at them. “We don’t need to be disguised, we can… incapacitate them.” 

“We’d be causing a scene” Younghoon said. 

The metal-bender shook his head. “Not inside, but just on the way in” He explained. 

“Still, we have to be in disguise when we use our powers” Mirae insisted. “We can’t go there wearing our normal clothes. We need to be discreet even if we’re knocking them out on the way in” she said. 

Changmin nodded. “Sure, there’s a costume shop not far from Viva Polo, we can get the uniforms there” He tapped his phone a few times. “Let me tell Juyeon first.” 

~ 

That night, Younghoon drove down a very familiar road. It wasn’t leading to the casino, but it was going to another familiar place, one they haven’t been to in a while. Even Juyeon, Changmin, and Mirae noticed. “You think he’ll agree to what we’re going to ask?” Juyeon asked. 

“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. I’m sure Ino hyung will understand?” Younghoon shrugged the farther he drove. 

“It’s been a while since we were back here,” Changmin looked out the window. “I wonder if anything’s changed.” 

Mirae leaned against the car door. “You guys think Sangyeon might start remembering what happened in the Bermuda triangle?” she glanced at them. 

“Probably. It has been a while since then, almost two years?” Younghoon glanced at her through the mirror. They approached the familiar building and parked the car. “Time to convince our resident shapeshifter to do some...shapeshifting for us” he said. 

Changmin entered the passcode for the front door but they stepped back when they heard a buzz. “Wrong passcode? They must have changed it since we left” He said. 

They heard feet shuffling, and the door opened. It was Kevin, wearing glasses and a beanie, dressed in his pajamas. He looked so tired. “Who goes there?” He said, squinting when he saw them. “Oh! It’s the four of you, come in, come in” he yawned, stepping aside. 

“Where’s Chanhee?” Changmin asked. 

“He’s in his room, why?” Kevin yawned. “Mirae, you’re here too, and- you look a little different” he noticed the streak in her hair. 

Mirae figured out what he meant. “Yeah, it just came out after the Bermuda mission. I didn’t think to cover it up.” 

He smiled. “It actually suits you. Makes you look prettier.” 

Younghoon eyed him. “Kevin, think twice?” He remarked, and Kevin nodded, backing away. “What’s going on with people today?” he muttered to himself. 

“Alright, alright, I can feel the jealousy from over here” Kevin commented. “Anyway, you can all wait in the cafeteria, I’ll get him” He flipped the switch and they saw the lights in the cafeteria turn on, the familiar conveyor belt running. 

The four of them went inside and settled themselves in front of the conveyor belt of boats floating in a line. “I didn’t think you were the jealous type” Mirae grinned at him. 

Younghoon pouted at her. “Woong flirted with you earlier today and now Kevin’s suddenly doing that” he explained. 

“Paid me a compliment?” Mirae pointed out, trying to stifle a laugh. “You got jealous of Juyeon yesterday, you were apparently getting possessive when Woong talked to me today, and now Kevin? Are you okay?” she chuckled. He pouted at her even more and she kissed him in response. 

Changmin laughed as well. “Next thing we know, you’ll get jealous of the rest of us because Mirae’s helping us” he teased, and the older boy shook his head. 

“You’re the only one I see” Mirae assured him. “The first face I want to see when I wake up in the morning and the last one I see before I go to sleep… or try to” she said softly. 

Overcome with affection, he kissed her tenderly. Changmin and Juyeon laughed in their places. The door opened and a sleepy Choi Chanhee entered, his very blonde hair tousled. “Hey, you’re here” he yawned. “So, what’s going on with all of you? Mirae!” He exclaimed all of a sudden upon seeing her. 

“We’re going to go straight to the point. We’re on a case and we need someone who can slip past the guards? All that kind of spy stuff. Can you do it?” Mirae asked. 

Chanhee looked shocked. “What?” He said. 

“We’d explain the details on the way, we just need someone who can help us infiltrate this casino, and get back some stuff for a client” Changmin explained. “We can’t make a scene, or get the security to start calling for backup, we just need to make it in there.” 

The shapeshifter looked confused. “I thought you guys were only private investigators” he said. 

“We are, but the client’s paying us to do this, so we’ve got no choice.” Juyeon said this time. “We’re actually going to that casino after seeing you, so you have to come with us if you’re in.” 

Chanhee studied all of their expressions, stopping at Mirae. “Are we going to get killed?” he asked. 

“There’s a chance that it can get violent, but I’ll protect you as much as I can” Mirae assured him. “So will Juyeon, so will Changmin and Younghoon. We have your back, we just need your powers to get past the guards without making a scene” she explained. 

A small smile started to creep up on his face. “Well, I remember Hyuk telling me I could be useful in spying situations,” he said. “Okay then, I’m in.” 

The four of them cheered. “Get dressed, fix your hair, and we’ll wait for you by the car.” Changmin told him, and the shapeshifter bolted out of the cafeteria. 

~ 

Younghoon never thought he’d be driving down to The Sphere. Hearing Woong describe what it looked like earlier made him think just how big the place actually was. Mirae was sitting in the passenger seat this time, while Changmin, Juyeon, and Chanhee squeezed together in the backseat of their car, the three boys already wearing the police costumes they borrowed from the shop. 

“What was the Kang family mob mission like? Tell me the details! That sounded so cool!” Chanhee squealed in his seat. 

“We went to one of the places Mirae and the others went to before the Seoul attack!” Changmin recalled, just as excitedly. “It was really surreal, you have to check it out sometime. Can we go back down there next time?” he leaned over to Mirae. 

“Sure? I think Chanhee will blend right in. If he wants to go, I have to bring Jihoon down there too” Mirae nodded, looking over at them. 

The shapeshifter gaped at them. “That’s so cool! You got to see non-human stuff?!” he asked them. 

“Yeah, centaurs, witches, banshees, trolls” Juyeon nodded, beaming at the fact that he also got to see it. “It’s not as enjoyable as you might think. We weren’t there very long” he explained. 

“And we didn’t get out of there in one piece either, I got kidnapped and taken hostage” Younghoon said, and Mirae reached for his hand to hold. 

“How could you have gotten kidnapped?” Chanhee raised a brow. 

“Someone injected something in me, and the last thing I remember was calling for Mirae, and then the next thing I knew, I was in the basement of the Kang family mansion, wearing an anti-mutant ability collar” He explained. 

“Someone made an anti-mutant ability collar? Did you destroy it at least?” Asked the shapeshifter. 

“We did,” Changmin and Juyeon replied. “Mirae beat the Hounds up, we destroyed almost everything, but we kept some as evidence to show to the police when they came in to arrest them.” 

“It’s a miracle you didn’t kill them” 

Mirae looked over at him. “Well, Jaehwan’s girlfriend happens to be the only daughter of that family, and even if they’ve done horrible stuff, they’re just not worth the effort. We put them away though. Solitary confinement in a maximum security prison.” 

“Oh yeah, before we forget,” Changmin took the folder tucked into the back of the passenger seat and showed it to Chanhee. “Here are the people we’ll be dealing with. You might have to change into one of them later” he said. 

Chanhee nodded and eagerly looked through the file and at the photos. The drive continued for another hour, the three boys eventually dozing off, with Mirae blinking to stay awake. She held Younghoon’s hand again, running her thumb over his gloved knuckles. She glanced at him. “Are you ready?” she asked. 

He shook his head. “Nope. I don’t think this is something I can be ready for, but I have to be ready, if I want to put this behind me for good.” 

“Do you plan on getting back at them for what they tried to do to you?” Mirae asked quietly, looking down at his exposed neck, where she remembered had burn marks from the collar the Kang family made him wear. 

Younghoon swallowed. “Maybe, maybe not. I keep thinking of how I’ll react when I see them. By now they’re probably planning to kill me again,” he said. “If anything happens to me-” 

“Shh” Mirae put a finger to his lips. She didn’t want to hear it. “I won’t allow that to happen. I nearly lost you when you got kidnapped, I won’t forgive myself if that happens again.” 

He smiled a sad smile. “I love you” he mouthed. 

“I love you too” she whispered in response. “It’s you and me, we’re endgame, remember?” 

“I do” he said. 

~

As Woong had described, they approached an elaborately decorated dome-shaped establishment in the middle of what looked like a field, with some roads paved for all kinds of luxury automobiles to pass through. There were several luxury cars and limousines that went through, all of them seemingly coming from every corner. “Not quite discreet for a luxury casino” Mirae said. 

“I don’t think this is planned to be discreet in the first place” Younghoon muttered. “We just need to check where the service entrance is. Chanhee,” he called out to the shapeshifter, who woke up. 

“Hmm? What? Are we here?” He nudged Changmin and Juyeon awake. Chanhee looked out the window. “Wow” 

Mirae picked up her staff from the side compartment. “Who should he turn into?” she asked. 

“Myungjin owns the casino, maybe turn into him?” Younghoon shrugged. 

Chanhee nodded and flipped through the folder for the photo. In seconds, the stocky figure of Myungjin himself was sitting in between Juyeon and Changmin, who moved to both sides. “Younghoon, what do you think?” He said. 

Younghoon froze for a moment at the sight of him. Mirae looked over and looked impressed. “Good, whoa. Convincing” he said. “Maybe talk a little more accented. He’s from Busan” 

“The satoori lessons from Hyunjoon are coming in handy now” Changmin suddenly recalled with a laugh. 

Chanhee cleared his throat. “O-okay, how about now?” He said. “Younghoon!” he called, making him freeze. 

“That’s-that’s accurate now, yeah” He said. Chanhee beamed. 

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to understand the actual person” Mirae said. 

“You don’t know that, Mirae. If you could understand Japanese, you can definitely understand satoori” Juyeon pointed out. Mirae shrugged. 

“Well I have to have limits, right?” She said. 

“True, but with what happened to you, there’s no telling” Changmin said quietly. 

Younghoon reached for her hand this time, quietly assuring her that she was still okay. She squeezed his hand and looked out the window. Mirae unfolded the drawing Woong made of the entrances of the casino. “The service entrances are in between the main ones.” 

“Everyone, get ready” he said, and the rest of them sat up, fixing their uniforms. Younghoon parked the car within two trees at the edge of a wooded area. 

The five of them got out, with Chanhee stumbling a little. “You might want to try not to trip when you face the guards” Juyeon advised him. 

“Hey!” Chanhee frowned at the comment and they pressed on. 

“I have to tell you all, it feels weird going with someone who looks exactly like Myungjin” Younghoon admitted. 

“Were you two on good terms at some point?” Chanhee asked, trying to walk as normally as possible. He was trying to get comfortable in the form of Myungjin, that everyone knew he had to hold up for a while until they were done. 

“Like all the other members of the gang, they tried not to touch me. They had to be nice, but he usually just ignored me,” Younghoon explained. “To him, I was more of Bumsoo’s lackey than someone who could help him too.” 

“So what did you really do while you were there?” Changmin asked. 

“I just… I was just someone they used as a secret weapon when they wanted to get information…” Younghoon muttered. 

Chanhee looked at the older boy in disbelief. “Really? You mean you were the muscle?” he asked. 

“Yes, yes I was their muscle, their little pet that had to sic people” He grumbled. Mirae chuckled and she reached for his hand. 

“Calm down” she squeezed his hand. Mirae leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Any chance you can keep wearing that uniform later?” she asked with a grin. 

Younghoon blushed. “If you want” he said with a cheeky smile. 

Chanhee, Changmin, and Juyeon laughed. “Good to see both of you going strong for this long” the shapeshifter commented. Younghoon and Mirae just smiled. 

~ 

They approached an entrance until a group of suited men and women wearing earpieces went up to them. “President, I didn’t think we’d expect you back so soon” one of them said. 

“Well, now I’m back, and this is Gogo,” Chanhee cleared his throat and replied. “She’s my personal...guard” He wrapped an arm around Mirae’s shoulder. 

The group nodded in response and ushered the two of them inside. The interiors were decorated in pink and gold, with various fabrics covering towering pillars. Mirae kept her hands in her pockets, shuffling the deck of cards she had in her pockets. “Are you armed?” One of them asked her. 

“Nope, but I can hold my own without guns” She replied coolly. 

“May I ask what your credentials are?” They asked. 

“I used to serve the Kang family mob,” Mirae replied, recalling their encounter. “But I’m mostly a mercenary for hire. If you want to know my famous kills, it’s,” she paused for a moment, trying to find the strength to say what she was going to say next. “Lee Miran, and Go Changseok. You might know them as the Utopian cult leaders.” 

The group stared at her, then whispered among themselves, looking obviously very impressed. “Well, you certainly have your share of tactical knowledge and combat know-how.” 

“Thanks, it’s a living” Mirae said flatly, eyeing the shapeshifter weirdly. 

“So, Gogo,” one of them, a tall man asked. She noticed the little twinkle in his eye as he said it. “Do you ever play cards? Or gamble?” He asked. 

Mirae nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do. Blackjack, poker, baccarat” she replied, trying to sound confident. 

“Whoa, really?” Chanhee suddenly said, and Mirae gave him a look that made him clear his throat. “Uh, excuse me, she’s amazing, isn’t she?” he said. 

“That’s impressive. You’ll find you’ll be able to play all of those and more” He winked at her. 

“If you think you can lay a hand on her,” Chanhee suddenly spoke, sounding annoyed. “Think again” and the man straightened up. “Pervert” he muttered under his breath, and Mirae chuckled at the comment. 

~ 

Meanwhile, Changmin, Juyeon, and Younghoon approached the service entrance, standing aside to let the delivery men and women pass through. They were carrying crates and loads of ice, fish, meat, and bottles of alcohol on trolleys, that they pushed towards the service elevator. “The only elevators seem to be going down” Younghoon muttered, looking at the arrows. 

“It could only mean that the kitchens and storage is underground. That must be where they keep the drugs, or the jewels, or both” Juyeon deduced. 

“On the count of three, one of us has to kill the security cameras, while the rest of us tie them up and gag them. Got it?” Younghoon turned to the two of them. They walked closer, up towards the doors and elevators that had guards stationed on each one. 

Changmin eyed the cameras the closer they got, his fingers nearly curling into fists as the cameras began to emit sparks, being yanked off the walls and falling face down on the ground. They heard glass shatter and break, more sparks emitting from the devices. “The cameras are faulty, I knew it” one of the guards said, some of them leaving their stations. 

“Hey, the three of you,” one of them called them. “This entrance is off-limits. Do you have a warrant?” 

“We’re new. Myungjin put together some personal guards” Juyeon replied, keeping his face down. 

“Three” Younghoon said, and Changmin got rid of their earpieces and radios while the two of them fought off the guards that came their way. Juyeon transformed into metal when some of the guards that were coming back tried to shoot.

In moments, all the guards were on a pile in one corner of the entrance. Juyeon crushed all the devices they had on them. “It won’t be long before their security team figures out what’s going on” He said to the two of them. 

“Which is why we have to hurry” Younghoon fixed his hair and put on his cap. He pressed the button and the door opened. The three of them got in and Changmin made the doors close before the men would stir. 

The metal-bender pushed one button, and the elevator lowered them down. “I feel like a spy” Juyeon said, looking at the small screen above the buttons. 

“This does feel like a heist” Changmin agreed, straightening his sleeves. “But we need to stay prepared.” 

“I’m wondering how Mirae and Chanhee are doing up there,” Younghoon glanced at the ceiling. “What if they get caught?” 

“They’ll be fine,” Juyeon assured him. “You’re thinking about Chanhee, who can turn into anyone, including their voices, and Mirae, a…” he paused, unsure of whether or not it was okay to say it. “Trained assassin, even if she doesn’t realize it fully. She can defend herself anyway, there’s nothing to worry about with her.” 

He nodded with a sigh, and the elevator stopped. The doors opened, revealing the hallway where the freezers and the pantry were situated. The sudden gust of cold wind came from the frozen rooms, making them shiver as they walked down the carpeted floor. “Was this supposed to be where we’re going?” Changmin looked at everything in awe. 

“I guess. There’s only one other button in that elevator” Younghoon shrugged. He took out the diagram of the map Woong had drawn him. “Everything we’re looking for should all be stored here. There’s no way they’d keep this somewhere where even the staff can steal.” 

They pressed on, seeing the stocks of expensive wines and liquor on the shelves, along with tinned and jarred food that they knew would cost so much. “How far should we be going?” Changmin asked. 

“Just until we see some doors that look funny, I guess” Younghoon shrugged. “Can’t you sense anything, though?” he asked. 

The metal-bender opened his mouth to speak, then looked up for a moment in thought. “You think I’m a metal detector?” 

“That’s your power, isn’t it? You control metal? You should probably sense something” Juyeon pointed out. 

“All I’m sensing would be the shelves” Changmin replied. 

“Then we’ll go to the doors and you can feel around for something” Younghoon pointed out as well. 

The metal-bender shook his head and frowned slightly. “The things you guys make me do” he muttered. 

“At this moment, you’re the only one who can do something” said Juyeon, who remained in his metal form while they walked. 

The further inside the giant store room they went, the more they felt like they were getting lost. The entire store room was like a maze and they figured that it was why only the staff could be able to navigate it. Changmin heard a clinking sound coming from a nearby shelf. They froze, and looked to where the sound came from. 

“Can we at least leave this place without causing a fuss?” Changmin whispered to them. “It’s probably nothing. It’s a bit windy in here anyway” he added, and they kept walking. 

“I think we’re here” Younghoon saw a door and went up to it. He gestured for Changmin to come closer, and the metal-bender pressed his hand on the door, as he tried to sense any metal coming from the other side. 

They heard something clinking from behind the door, making it rumble. “What do you think it could be?” Changmin glanced at the two taller boys. 

“It could be a lot of things, but we won’t know until we open the door” Juyeon said, jiggling the doorknob and turning it. They heard the sound of parts clinking and breaking on the inside. He opened the door and a colder gust of wind hit them. 

It was a giant freezing unit, with animal carcasses hung from both sides. At the end of the unit, they saw a big stack of yellow boxes. “Do we try and look in here?” Younghoon turned to both of them for an answer. 

“It won’t hurt to” Changmin urged them, and they carefully stepped inside. “The metal I sensed must have come from the hooks and the freezing system but,” he looked around. “Why do I feel like there’s something more in here?” He walked towards the end of the unit, towards the spot where he sensed it was strongest. 

Juyeon and Younghoon followed, with the latter bringing down the box Changmin tapped on. He ripped the tape off and they saw boxes of frozen food. “Must have been the mercury content with all these fish stick snacks” Juyeon suggested, trying to dig through the box and feel around for something. 

The metal-bender shook his head. “Maybe it’s in the boxes themselves” he said, taking one box and opening it. A large packet filled with frozen fish snacks fell out. He let out a frustrated noise. “There must be something here, I can feel it” he said. 

“It really might be just the mercury content in those or something” Juyeon watched him, feeling through one himself. 

Changmin opened the packet, taking one out. “There’s something here” he said, feeling something stiff and prickly. “There is!” he said. 

Juyeon and Younghoon hurriedly crushed the frozen food, and they saw a glint of gold and silver coming from the other contents inside. Changmin stared at them, as he found several diamonds. The other two found more pieces of diamonds and sapphires. “We found it” He said. 

“One other question,” Younghoon held an emerald brooch. “How do we get these out of here?” 

“We need to call Chanhee and Mirae now” Juyeon said.


	4. A.K.A Escape Plans and Closed Cases

Chanhee and Mirae were led further down the heavily perfumed hallways of the casino. “Would you like anything to drink?” One of them asked. 

 

“Water. Alcohol dulls the senses” Mirae replied. “Ice water” she added. Some of them snickered at her explanation but went quiet when she gave them a look. 

 

“And for you, president?” One of them turned to Chanhee. 

 

He cleared his throat. “Just soju, I don’t feel like drinking the hard liquor today” he said. “Like she said, it dulls the senses just a little.” 

 

Two of the guards walked off, leaving the rest of the group to lead them down a quieter corridor that was more elaborately decorated than the rest. At the end of the corridor was a room that had a gold nameplate that said “VVIP.” As they approached the door, one of the guards knocked on it a few times before it opened wide enough to reveal a group of middle-aged men playing in several tables, with young women as the dealers of each. Some of them were even dressed in what Mirae and Chanhee figured were their royal outfits. 

 

“Your usual table?” They all stared at Chanhee, who quietly nodded, and they were shown to the corner table, where there was a vacant seat that had a seemingly familiar looking woman sitting next to it. 

 

“Woori” The shapeshifter muttered to Mirae. “What am I going to do?” he asked, slightly panicking. 

 

“You don’t know how to play those card games?” Mirae asked him. 

 

“Of course I don’t know how to play those card games, I’ve never even set foot in a casino until tonight” Chanhee whispered, sounding more panicked. 

 

“Oppa” Woori approached them and linked arms with Chanhee. “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting all day for you” she said, in somewhat of a pout. She glanced at Mirae, and her pout turned into that of a frown. “And who is she?” 

 

“She’s my new personal guard,” Chanhee replied, trying to sound calm, even though he was panicking from the way she was talking to him and the way she was even touching him. “Gogo, this is Jeon Woori” He introduced them. Mirae simply nodded in acknowledgment. 

 

“Gogo? Sounds like some Japanese hooker. You’re not a hooker though, are you? Because I give Myungjin what he wants in that area, and then some” Woori said pointedly, pulling Chanhee closer to her and giving him a very loud kiss. 

 

Mirae felt Chanhee tug on her arm a little too tightly and she squeezed back, as if reminding him to keep up with the ruse until Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin were done with what they had to do. At least now they knew what Woori had been up to while she was separated from her mother. Woori pulled away and pulled Chanhee towards the table. “Try and bring up what you found out, and don’t panic, just stay calm” she whispered to the shapeshifter, who frantically nodded. 

 

She sat down on one of the velvet seats, keeping an eye on Chanhee, who was trying not to give himself away at the table. Mirae took out her phone, pausing when she saw her photo with Younghoon as her lockscreen, and looking through in case a message came up. Nothing. 

 

A waiter came into the room, holding a tray of their drinks. Mirae took hers, and Chanhee managed to pull away from Woori enough to get his. She watched him try to play, seeing the hands he was dealing, and how he casually pushed his stack of chips forward. “Bumsoo might be looking for you, you know, as well as your mother” He said, glancing at her.

 

Woori let out a laugh. “My father doesn’t care about me. He’s busy taking care of Jungah’s baby, remember?” she said. “As for my mother, I’d rather not say. She cares more about her wealth than she lets on. What are they going to do anyway if they find out we’re together? Kill me?” she scoffed. 

 

“You never know, it’s your father” Chanhee replied. “It’s why I have to watch my back around you” he added. 

 

She pouted. “Aww come on, you can drop that act around me, Myungjin. You and I know we’re… perfect for each other” she she said silkily, purring in his ear. Chanhee felt his cheeks, even if he was in disguise, heat up. 

 

“He’ll hit” Mirae suddenly said to the dealer, gesturing to the cards in front of Chanhee, making them stop. 

 

“Excuse me?” Woori glared at her. 

 

“He’s got a nine, and a three in front of him, he’ll hit” Mirae repeated. “Right?” she glanced at Chanhee, who felt relieved. 

 

“Yes, hit me” Chanhee nodded, a little frantically. 

 

The dealer laid down a card next to the shapeshifter’s other cards. It was a nine. “Blackjack” she said, pushing more stacks of chips towards him. Chanhee looked up at Mirae, who nodded, while Woori glared at her even more. 

 

“I won’t be here very long,” Chanhee suddenly said to Woori, while looking at the cards he was dealt with this time. “You’ll understand, won’t you? I’ve got so many things to do, so little time to do them.” 

 

“I know, and I’ll miss you” Woori pouted at him and gave him a sloppy kiss. 

 

“He’ll stay” Mirae suddenly said, noticing the cards he had. 

 

Chanhee pulled away, looking at her in surprise. “What?” 

 

“I said you’ll stay. You’ve got a seven and a nine, right?” Mirae gestured to his cards. The other men seated at the table also stared at her, intrigued. 

 

He cleared his throat. “Oh, oh right. I’ll stay” he waved his hand over his cards. The dealer nodded and lifted up her own cards in front of him. 

 

“Your sixteen beats my five. Congratulations, sir” she pushed more stacks of chips towards him. 

 

“Excellent. I’d like to have these cashed now,” Chanhee suddenly got up. “Gogo, please bring the chips. Sorry to cut this game short, but we’re leaving now, goodbye” he said, pouring them into a bag that one of the guards gave him. “Tomorrow, again, gentlemen?” 

 

The rest of the people on his table nodded. Mirae held the bag full of chips tightly. “I will usher him out” She told the group of guards that were with them. “Don’t bother coming with us, I’ve learned the way” she added. 

 

“Thank you, Gogo, if you’ll excuse me, everyone. I will be back soon” Chanhee announced, and the two of them bowed their way out of the room and into the corridor. As the door closed, he breathed a big sigh of relief, wiping his mouth in disgust. “Gross” he frowned, cringing. 

 

Mirae tried to stifle a laugh from his reaction. “She’s going to think something’s up if you don’t kiss her anyway” she muttered, keeping a hold on his arm. 

 

“Have they sent any message yet?” He asked. She took out her phone again. There was a message from Younghoon. Chanhee noticed the wallpaper, and the way he was saved on her phone. “You and Younghoon are still together until now, that’s really nice” he suddenly commented. 

 

_ Love of my life: Found the jewels. We need to leave. Any updates on your end? _

 

“They found the treasure, and now we have to get out of here” Mirae told him. 

 

“There has to be an emergency exit somewhere?” Chanhee was beginning to panic again. 

 

“There should be, or this place would be in very big trouble with the law, come on” Mirae pulled him by the arm, and they hurried back towards the hall that led them into the main casino area. 

 

~ 

 

Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin were in the midst of a frenzied search for the rest of the jewels within the frozen food. “Ya, I want to ask, how are we going to get out of here with this?” Juyeon asked them. 

 

“We’ll think of something, don’t worry” Changmin assured him as they kept crushing up the outer coating of the frozen food in the boxes. 

 

Younghoon was trying to take out a few at a time, pausing every now and then when his hands got cold. Juyeon’s metallic hands were beginning to pick up condensation from the cold as well, leaving Changmin to look through most, just by channelling a magnetic pull. Some of the jewels came out of the food and flew into his hands. 

 

“Hey, what are you three doing in there?” Someone shouted from the end. 

 

“We’re authorized by Myungjin himself” Younghoon replied, the three of them frozen in their places upon getting caught. 

 

“Oh really?” The voice grew louder, and loud footsteps followed. 

 

“We are, didn’t you see us with him earlier?” Juyeon spoke this time. 

 

“Funny you should mention that, I did see the three of you, but I don’t think you belong here, at all” the voice replied. 

 

“We’re not planning on hurting you, so whatever you might think of doing, don’t” Changmin said. 

 

The footsteps grew louder, until the form of the guards that they knocked out appeared. Some of them were sporting bleeding noses and busted lips. Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin stared at them then exchanged looks. “Mutants, as I had expected” one of them pointed at Juyeon. 

 

“We don’t want to hurt you, but we’ll have to if you try and stop us” Younghoon said. 

 

“Get them” The guard-in-charge instructed, and Changmin sent a few of the shelves and hooks from the ceiling towards them, pinning them to the walls of the freezer while some were knocked out by Juyeon, who charged towards them. 

 

Younghoon piled all the jewels inside the boxes again. “Run out of here, we’ll keep them busy” Juyeon told him, and he bolted, charging towards the door that was closing and nearly breaking it down by the hinges. He heard his phone buzz, and he took it out. It was a message from Mirae. 

 

_ Mirae: We found Woori, details to follow. We have to get out! _

 

Younghoon froze at the message, but swallowed as pocketed his phone, carrying the box with only one hand. Juyeon and Changmin ran out of the freezer after a moment, the metal-bender closing the door of the unit shut to lock them inside. “That was so close” Juyeon looked alarmed. 

 

“We’re not completely out yet, let’s go!” Changmin said, and the three of them raced back out and towards the elevator, forcing the doors shut before the guards would catch up to them. 

 

They breathed sighs of relief, and they noticed the security camera in the ceiling. Changmin made the camera disconnect and fall on the floor, Juyeon crushing it in time to disconnect it even more. “We’re nearly out of here, what about Chanhee and Mirae?” Juyeon asked. 

 

“They found Woori,” Younghoon replied, and the two of them looked at him in surprise. “Seems like they found out what they needed to know, they’re still up in the casino, probably trying to get out” he explained. 

 

“Then we look for them” Changmin suggested. “One of us can go back to the car while the rest look for them” 

 

“I’m not leaving Mirae in there” Younghoon suddenly said. 

 

“Then I’ll go to the car” Juyeon nodded, and Younghoon handed him the box as the elevator doors opened. To their surprise, a crowd of guards were surrounding the elevators, all of them pointing their guns at the three of them. 

 

Changmin shook his head. “We really can’t simply walk out of a place nowadays, huh?” He said, and sent some of them flying to one side, being dragged by their guns. Juyeon charged into a few others, knocking them down like bowling pins and Younghoon did the same. The metal-bender sent others to the other side of the entrance. 

 

“No, we can’t” Juyeon said, getting back onto his feet. “Go back inside the casino, go!” he said, sprinting away. 

 

Changmin and Younghoon rushed inside the casino, casually passing by the guards who didn’t seem to notice them because of their uniforms. “Where would they be?” Younghoon looked around for a sign of them. “Chanhee would be in disguise, so we need to look for Myungjin and Mirae” he said. 

 

“Should we split up?” Changmin asked. 

 

“No, we can’t. This place is too big, we’re going to get lost” He replied. He took out his phone again, and it began to ring. “Hello?” 

 

“Where are you? We’re outside, emergency exit from the west entrance” Mirae said from the other line. 

 

“We’re at the south entrance,” Younghoon’s expression fell at the realization, and he gestured Changmin to the arrows pointing to the west. “We’ll be outside” he said, and hung up. “We need to leave before those guards see us” he pulled Changmin along towards the exit again. 

 

They stumbled outside, catching the attention of some of the guests coming in, as well as the guards who managed to get on their feet. “Backup, backup, hostiles in the vicinity” They heard one of them say. 

 

“Oh crap” Changmin sighed, and the two of them raced down the road, dodging as many cars as they could and nearly stumbling into the field and away from sight. “We can’t go back in here either, not that I’d want us to go back here” he panted when they skidded to a halt. 

 

Younghoon clenched his fists in frustration. “I want to fly but I know I can’t. We need to keep going or we’ll get caught” He said, looking at the crowd of guards that were scattering to look for them. 

 

Meanwhile, Mirae and Chanhee stood by the wall, trying to hide from the guards that they noticed crowd around the entrances and exits. “What are we going to do! They’re onto us!” Chanhee panicked. 

 

“Try not to freak out!” Mirae shushed him. “As far as they know, they don’t know it’s not really Myungjin that they played cards with, okay? Trust me, I’ll handle it. I’m Gogo, remember?” she assured him. “Just try and stay in disguise for a little longer” she noticed that his hair was beginning to change back to blonde, but the shapeshifter nodded and the hair went back to normal. 

 

“What are we going to do with this then?” Chanhee held up the bag of casino chips. 

 

“Save it for when you return?” Mirae shrugged with a sheepish expression. She took out the decks of cards in her pockets. “When I say go, you run away to where we parked the car, one of them’s bound to be there by now, okay?” She said. 

 

The shapeshifter nodded. “Won’t they notice that I’m not doing those martial arts moves you do?” he asked. 

 

“As far as they know, I’m your personal guard, so I’ll be the one doing that. Unless,” She looked at the cards she was holding and shuffled them with a flourish. Some of the cards seemed to be floating between her fingers, making Chanhee stare at them in awe. “I hope card throwing is something I surprisingly do well” she said. 

 

“I won’t be surprised if you do” Chanhee assured her. “Wait a minute,” He began to change again to his normal form, only his skin wasn’t blue, but he had very fair skin. “If I change into this, they’ll think they’re the ones who might be seeing things” he said. 

 

She nodded. “Good idea, come on, the others might need our help” she said.

 

As she was about to take a step forward, one guard grabbed her by the collar, along with Chanhee, who squealed in surprise. “Gogo? Is that your real name?” The guard said, gripping her jacket collar tightly. 

 

“Yes it is, and I would let go if I were you” Mirae replied, noticing how another guard had Chanhee by the collar as well. The shapeshifter was cowering and trying not to move. “I’d let go of him too” she tilted her head towards him. 

 

“Are you really Myungjin’s personal guard? Or are you trying to swindle millions from him?” The guard asked her again. “Such a pretty face, I wouldn’t want to destroy that” he stroked her cheek with the barrel of the pistol he was holding. 

 

“He won it fair and square” Mirae muttered. “Again, let me and him go and you won’t get hurt.”

 

The guards laughed at her. “Oh yeah? And what are you going to do? The boss is not going to like having people cheat him, you know?” He pointed out. 

 

Mirae held up a fanned out set of cards. “Take your pick” she said, and her eyes began to glow, making them step back in shock and awe, letting go of them. “Now you’re scared? I told you so” She flung them towards the guards as she pulled Chanhee by the arm and ran away, explosions erupting from where they stood. 

 

They ran as fast as they could, suddenly bumping into both Younghoon and Changmin, the four of them falling over on the ground. “Oh my god, that was close” Mirae panted, noticing she was under Younghoon, who suddenly gave her a cheeky grin. “This is familiar” she teased, quickly pushing him off while he helped her up. 

 

“Let’s go” Changmin said, and as the four of them were about to run back, Juyeon had appeared with the car, unlocking the doors in time for them to climb in and he drove away. 

 

The four of them were panting and trying to catch their breaths from all the running, and the panting turned into laughing. “I can’t believe, we did it” Younghoon said with a big sigh of relief and contentment, closing his eyes in satisfaction.

 

“Yeah, halfway through with this case and we can take a break” Juyeon grinned as he drove, staying alert in case they would be followed. 

 

“Halfway through?” Mirae asked. 

 

“Yeah, we found her jewels, now we just need to bring Woori back” Changmin explained. 

 

Chanhee cringed at the memory, but laughed. “So, she’s actually dating the guy who owns The Sphere, as it, disgustingly turns out” he said. 

 

“What do you mean?” Younghoon asked. 

 

“When Chanhee was in disguise, Woori was practically all over him I had to step in and play blackjack on his behalf” Mirae explained, eyeing the shapeshifter. 

 

“All over him? You mean-” Juyeon looked at them through the rearview mirror. 

 

“We mean all over him, the only thing left for her to do was to bring him to a room so they could do things” Mirae pointed out. Changmin cringed, while Younghoon looked shocked. 

 

“What things? What kind of things?” Juyeon asked, looking so confused. 

 

Mirae glanced at Younghoon, who blushed. “Things couples do when they’re alone together…. Usually at night. I don’t mean sleeping.” 

 

He figured it out, and wrinkled his nose in response as he kept driving, keeping his eyes on the road and in every direction they were in. “Guys, I suggest we keep on alert, they might be trying to follow us” He said. 

 

“It’s okay, we can handle them” Changmin said, and Juyeon turned back into metal while he drove. 

 

Chanhee transformed back into his blue form and looked out the window. “The four of you get into this a lot?” He asked. 

 

“Not a lot, only once in a while” Mirae replied. “You did really well earlier” she said, and the shapeshifter smiled. “If you’d like we can call you in to help us from time to time.” 

 

“Really? That would be great” Chanhee’s eyes lit up. “I hope Ino hyung understands, though. We’ve been so busy lately with training and helping Sangyeon hyung control his powers” 

 

“Sangyeon’s powers are practically limitless” Mirae agreed. “I can see why everyone’s needed to help him out. He can do so much.” 

 

“We nearly drowned, nearly got all of us killed back on that island” Changmin recalled. “Even in that Happydale facility, that was insane” he said quietly. “We nearly really died, Hyunjae died, but Hyunjoon brought him back to life.” 

 

“How is he?” Mirae asked after a moment. 

 

“He’s doing fine, it’s almost like it never happened, which is even better than we expected” Chanhee replied. “He seems to have let it go, it’s been a while after all.” 

 

“A little over a year and a half” Younghoon pointed out. 

 

“Back to Summerland, then home?” Juyeon asked. 

 

“Back to Summerland, then home. We’ll get a few hours sleep, then give the jewels back to Yoojung and tell her what we learned” Mirae repeated. 

 

~

 

Yoojung arrived hours later at the office. They laid out the jewelry and stones in front of her. “We found that in The Sphere last night” Mirae explained, while they watched her pick up a gold bracelet and examine it. 

 

“What about my daughter? Have you found her?” She suddenly asked, putting the bracelet back inside the box. 

 

“We did, she was in the VIP playing tables. Yoojung,” Younghoon began. “She’s dating Myungjin.” 

 

She stared at them for a moment, then burst into laughter. “I beg your pardon? Did you say she was dating that bushwhacking pervert?” She asked. 

 

“Yes, we had some help in going undercover, and it turns out she’s been sleeping with Myungjin all this time. She doesn’t want to go back to you” Mirae explained. 

 

Yoojung’s expression stiffened. “What about my husband?” 

 

“From what I heard, Bumsoo’s preoccupied with taking care of Jungah’s baby” Mirae said. 

 

Yoojung stared at them in horror, as if she had seen a ghost. “Jungah’s baby survived?” She said. 

 

“Apparently so” Mirae replied. 

 

“I was afraid of this,” Yoojung suddenly sat down. The four of them surrounded her. “There’s a chance that this could get messy, and a chance that she survived that day,” she stared at the box. “She could come after me, and my children, even you” she looked up at Younghoon. “In the event that it should happen, I advise you to stay out of her way” she said to him. 

 

“Is she that dangerous?” Changmin asked curiously. 

 

“Very. My husband’s military friends, all of them skilled, are afraid of her. She rivals Myungjin in hand to hand combat, and knowing what happened to her, what they did, she’ll be on a rampage” Yoojung explained, a slight shiver in her voice. 

 

“So, how do you suggest we finish this case after that information?” Juyeon asked.. 

 

Yoojung sat up. “Talk some sense into Woori, tell her about Jungah and her probably surviving that hit my husband ordered on her,” she urged them. She glanced at Younghoon. “You might be the only one who could, because she knows you” 

 

Younghoon said nothing, and instead looked down. “If that’s true, then we’ll wind up in the middle of a big mess” Mirae deduced, and held his hand. “We suggest fleeing for a while to go somewhere safe in the event that it does happen” she said. 

 

“That’s exactly what I intend to do,” Yoojung replied. “On second thought, I will try to get through to Woori myself, she might get aggressive towards Younghoon and we wouldn’t want her in a coma again now, would we?” she stood up and took the box. “Well, seeing as things have turned out this wayI guess your job here is done, after all. Thank you for your service” 

 

Mirae, Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin’s eyes widened in slight surprise at her words. “Just like that?” Changmin said. 

 

“Yes, what else did you expect?” Yoojung gave the metal-bender a look. “You’ve fulfilled your job to investigate. I’ve paid you enough, and now that I know where she would be, I can take it from here, as Woori’s mother.” 

 

Without another word, she left the office, the door closing behind her with a slight bang. The four of them stared at the door for a moment, then turned to each other. “We may be done with this, but why do I get the feeling that something definitely will happen?” Changmin looked uneasy. 

 

“Me too” Juyeon nodded. 

 

“So do I” Mirae and Younghoon nodded as well. They sat back down on their chairs behind their desks, wondering what they could do. “I don’t feel good cashing that check just yet” she added. 

 

Younghoon looked at the case folder on his desk. “We’ve got no choice but to go back into our lives, but we need to be prepared about what could happen. Like what Yoojung said, Jungah’s very dangerous, one of the most dangerous in the world. We’d better be careful crossing her path” he said quietly. 

 

“We’ll be ready if that happens, we always are, aren’t we?” Changmin assured them, trying to maintain his optimism. “We got away from those people back in that casino last night, right? We’ve been doing this for over a year now, we know what to do in case there’s trouble, we’ll be fine” He continued to assure them. 

 

Juyeon got up from his seat. “I have to go back to the restaurant. The lunch rush is coming and Chanyeol needs me there. Let me know what our gameplan is, okay?” He patted each of them on the shoulder before leaving. 

 

The three of them exchanged looks. “I guess there really isn’t much we can do except be alert,” Mirae said with a sigh of defeat. “I guess I can go out to the store and help Jihoon tend to the customers”

 

“Me too” Changmin got up as well, and the two of them turned to the other door that led to the back office of the store. 

 

“What about you?” She looked over at Younghoon. 

 

He looked up. “I think I’ll take a moment, but I’ll follow you guys back in there” He said. Changmin and Mirae nodded and left the room. 

 

~ 

 

“Just like that? It’s done?” Jihoon asked over dinner that night. His arms were covered in pain patches as Mirae brought in a box of pizza to the dining table. “It seems so sudden.” 

 

“I know, and I have a feeling that we weren’t really done too” Mirae replied, sitting down to open the box and the two of them started eating. “But what we found out seems to have shaken her up pretty bad.” 

 

“How bad?” 

 

Mirae paused. “Bad that we had to suggest she leave town to go somewhere safe, or go to the safest place she can go because she might be one of the targets” she explained. 

 

Jihoon stared at her in surprise. “Oh, that bad. Can people really survive a bullet to the head? That seems incredible though” he said. 

 

She nodded. “There are people that do, yeah. I’d like to think some divine intervention may have done it. We’ve got a feeling that the one who may be after our client may have actually survived after what happened.” 

 

“So what are you going to do?” 

 

Mirae shook her head. “There’s nothing much we can do. On the bright side, I’ll be able to spend more time at the store instead of the office” she smiled. “You’ve been doing so well in everything lately” 

 

Jihoon beamed. “Thanks” He continued eating. “So, things with you and Younghoon are okay again?” he asked. 

 

“Yeah, pretty much. We resolved our conflict, and we’re stronger than ever” Mirae smiled. “Jihoon, there’s a chance that the people we ran into at the casino might come after us, especially after Younghoon,” she began, and Jihoon’s smile faded. “I need you to be prepared, because those people are good at fighting” 

 

He nodded. “Don’t worry, I can do it. I may be up for promotion in taekwondo soon” He grinned. 

 

Mirae gaped and she patted his shoulder. “That’s great!! You’re doing so well!” 

 

“I could learn from you, but,” Jihoon teased. “You’re probably busy with Younghoon doing things couples do-” 

 

“Hey!” She laughed. “I’d teach you, but I don’t really know how to start because I don’t even remember how I learned” she explained. “Not even the dreams I’ve been having that make me remember the past, show me that, just the sparring.” 

 

“That’s the important bit!” Jihoon pointed out. “Looking back, I kind of wish I went through that training program, at least I could have been there for you.” 

 

“You wouldn’t like it when, as they would say, the juice would hit your brain” Mirae said quietly, then shook her head. “We shouldn’t remember that time anymore. It was a time in our lives that we’re better off forgetting, but not completely.” 

 

He nodded in agreement. “If we weren’t in that hellhole, we wouldn’t have met.” 

 

“Exactly, now, eat the rest of this pizza because I need to sharpen up my skills in the training room” She stuffed her face with the slice she was holding and got up to leave. 

 

~ 

 

Juyeon kept himself preoccupied with the punching bag in one corner of the training room. Changmin and Younghoon watched him from one side. “I now understand why Mirae doesn’t want me training to fight,” Younghoon gestured to the broken in punching bag next to them. It had a big hole in the middle. “My strength” he frowned. 

 

“How are you going to explain that to Mirae?” Changmin asked him with a grin. He clutched his stomach, having laughed a little too hard at the incident earlier. 

 

“I’ll be honest about it, obviously” Younghoon said. 

 

The metal-bender grinned. “So the two of you really did it” he commented. “I hope you were using protection” he teased. 

 

Younghoon blushed. “Well, it’s been a long time coming anyway, we were bound to do that sooner or later, and she’s the only one who doesn’t get hurt when I touch her with my bare hands” he explained. 

 

That made Juyeon stop. “I still don’t know what you mean by ‘it’” he looked over from behind the bag. “Are you talking about the clown?” 

 

“We’re not talking about the clown” Younghoon sighed, while Changmin was stifling a laugh. “We’re talking about… never mind, I’ll tell you later” 

 

The doors opened and Mirae came in, taking a step back in surprise when she saw the three of them. “Now, do you get why you don’t need to train?” She noticed the broken punching bag right away and eyed Younghoon. 

 

“Yes, I’ll fix it or we can get a new one” He pouted.    
  
“I guess we can” Mirae said, and she suddenly flung what looked like cards towards the dummies on the other side of the room. It pierced the necks of the dummies. She flung more cards and it stuck to the wall. 

 

Changmin and Younghoon gaped, and Juyeon stopped upon seeing it. She flung another card towards the switch and the lights went out. She flung another card that hit the corner of the ceiling and bounced towards the switch again, the lights coming back on. “Whoa, what are you doing? You know card throwing?” Juyeon asked in amazement. 

 

“I think so, I don’t know, maybe? It’s the same as throwing shurikens, right?” She said, fanning a few cards in her hand and throwing them towards the dummies. It sliced the heads off. Mirae rolled over to grab her staff and extended it, running towards the dummies and delivering flying kicks and punches, hitting the other dummies with her staff, the arms getting knocked off. 

 

She threw her staff to the side and reached for the bamboo sticks in the corner, hitting a rotating gauntlet that had spikes with incredible precision. Mirae kicked one arm off and rolled over to grab the bow and several arrows, with cuts on her ankle and the side of her foot that healed up, leaving only drops of blood behind. She fired the arrows, hitting the dummies again square in the chest. Mirae picked up the last remaining card from the floor and flung it towards another switch. 

 

Several more dummies dropped from a compartment in the ceiling, making Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon flinch in surprise. Mirae wiped the sweat from her forehead with the hem of her shirt and eyed the dummies, thinking of what to do next. She grabbed the actual shurikens and threw it into the air, kicking it towards one dummy, then another, then another, until all the dummies had the disks on the bodies.

 

Mirae reached for her spare deck of cards and her eyes glowed red. She started shuffling them in her hand with a flourish, and threw them towards the rope suspending one dummy. The cards returned in her hand and the dummy fell to the floor. She threw some towards the rest of the ropes, slicing it off. 

 

The glow in her eyes disappeared, and she looked around. The entire room was a mess. Cards were stuck on the walls, and the dummies were once again, close to being destroyed. The gauntlet had some blood on the tips and one other arm was dangling off after she kicked one off. Mirae wiped her forehead and picked up everything she used. The three boys started clapping in their places, amazed by her sparring. 

 

“We always do something like this whenever we’re on a mission, but this reminds me of how badass you really are” Changmin looked in awe. 

 

Juyeon looked excited. “I’ll learn how to do what you just did, right?” He asked. 

 

“You will, in time, when you’ve mastered what I tried to teach you” Mirae replied. 

 

“That’s my girl!” Younghoon looked incredibly pleased and proud. He got up and helped her clean up, removing the cards from the walls. Changmin helped by removing the shurikens from the dummies and placing them back into the compartment it was stored in. Mirae just smiled, and he pulled her in his arms. “If you’re not yet tired, maybe..” He eyed her with a cheeky grin. 

 

“Oh?” Mirae laughed. “Okay, I hope you’re the one that’s not tired. Some people fall asleep midway, you know” she teased, pulling away to put the weapons back. 

 

Younghoon’s eyes widened. “That actually happens?” he asked. 

 

“Yeah, at least I read about it somewhere. You think you can stay awake?” She teased some more. 

 

He laughed and pouted at her. “Hey, we’ve only done it twice and you think it’s going to happen with us? Come on” he said. 

 

Juyeon suddenly gaped at them. “I know that ‘it’ you’re talking about!” He said, and his cheeks turned pink. The three of them laughed. “I hope you’re using that thing guys use before doing it” he teased, and Changmin laughed loudly. 

 

“Hey!” Mirae frowned at them. “Enough with that? When both of you get into relationships, you’ll know what it’ll be like, okay?” 

 

“Jokes on you, I don’t plan on dating, anytime soon that is” Changmin teased again, and they left the room. 

 

~ 

 

Mirae and Younghoon lay in bed a while later, faces flushed and their clothes all over the floor. “I didn’t fall asleep” He proudly pointed out. She rested her head on his chest. “See? I didn’t fall asleep” 

 

She laughed. “Good thing too, otherwise you’ll have to drink coffee before we do this” she said. “Or we don’t do this at all for a while” she teased, making him pout. Mirae looked up at him. “How are you feeling? About the case being done?” 

 

Younghoon pushed his hair back away from his face. “I’m still uneasy. I keep thinking what if they decide to follow us too? What if they know where we are right now?” he said softly. 

 

Mirae nodded slightly. “I’ve been thinking the same thing too. We should be relaxing but we’re still thinking about it.” 

 

“You know, you looked really sexy training to fight earlier” He suddenly said. 

 

“Hmm? Was I not sexy just now?” Mirae teased. “But, I’m still surprised you don’t think my body looks weird or something” she said. 

 

He raised a brow. “How would your body look weird?” 

 

She covered herself up with the sheet even more. “I’m a little insecure about it. When I saw Woori, I got insecure even more because I knew she was someone you liked, and I don’t look like her. I’m not really pretty, I don’t look as good as those female singers or actresses on tv and in the movies, and then I look at you and think ‘Wow, my boyfriend’s quite a head-turner, how in the world did he end up liking me?’ you know?” 

 

Younghoon frowned a little, and he held her closer. “You really think that about yourself?” he said. 

 

“Believe it or not, I do” She said quietly. “It’s why I turned off the lights during our first time because you were going to see everything and you won’t be so enthusiastic about doing stuff like this with me anymore, at least if the lights are on” 

 

“If you saw yourself the way I see you,” He said. “You’d see why I love you, and why I think you’re beautiful just as you are.” 

 

“You’re just saying that” Mirae teased. 

 

Younghoon chuckled. “No, I’m serious. If you saw yourself the way I see you, your opinion of your appearance is going to change” he pointed out. “If people point that out about us, I won’t care because I can be good-looking enough for both of us if that happens” he joked, making her laugh. “They don’t have someone as amazing as you are either, so the joke’s on them” He smiled. 

 

Mirae wrapped her arms around him from under the sheets. “You really don’t care if my body isn’t hot?” 

 

He laughed. “You think you’re not hot to me? Hmm?” He leaned over her and pulled the covers over their heads. 


	5. A.K.A Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

Myungjin paced back and forth inside a dimly-lit meeting room in the casino. “It has come to my attention that someone who looked like me came here last night. I just got back from my overseas trip today. According to the footage, he looked and spoke exactly like me, he even kissed my darling Woori too,” He played the footage on the laptop in front of him. “Unless I can teleport, why did this happen?” He asked. 

“P-president, he really looked and sounded like you,” one of them stammered. “The voice is uncanny” 

“Couldn’t you have sensed it when you noticed the way he was behaving towards Woori and his so-called personal guard?” He asked, with a coldness in his voice. 

“There were so many people, so many guests entering and leaving the casino, it was hard to focus on who we needed to look out for” Another one spoke. “When we caught up to them, he changed, and his personal guard was unlike anyone we’ve seen, her eyes were glowing and-” 

Myungjin stopped and stared at the one talking. “Glowing? Enlighten me.” 

The first one stood up. “President, when we realized that they weren’t who they said they were, we tailed them, and when we saw them, the girl’s eyes were glowing and she was holding a card that exploded, and got to some of us.” 

He nodded. “Was she carrying a long silver staff, by any chance?” he asked. 

“She wasn’t.” 

“Does she have a white streak in her hair?” Myungjin asked this time. He had a feeling he knew who they were talking about. 

“Yes! A white streak in her hair!” 

“Sejeong was telling me about her. She was one of those people who ambushed Sky Sushi the other night,” He said. “An old friend of ours is included among those people too. Kim Younghoon.” 

“I knew one of them looked familiar!” One of them said. 

Before he could say anything more, the doors burst open, and Sejeong and Gunghwa appeared, followed by two of her personal guards. The rest of them stood up to bow. “We need to talk about our plan to keep them out of our way.” 

“No, we need to talk about something incredibly important. Leave us” Sejeong declared, and everyone else, including Gunghwa left the room, closing the door behind them. 

“What is it this time?” Myungjin asked with an exasperated sigh. 

“Why didn’t you tell me the baby Jungah was carrying survived?!” She hissed. “You’ve known all this time and you didn’t think of telling the rest of us?!” 

“Bumsoo is the one who wouldn’t tell the rest of you,” He pointed out. “I simply didn’t say anything because he took me into his confidence.” 

Sejeong glared at him. “Still, but you should be so lucky because that is only the least of our problems. You realize that if Jungah turns out to have survived, she will be coming after us?” She asked. 

Myungjin glanced at her. “After all the shit Bumsoo put her through, and after what happened to her years ago, that woman deserves her revenge,” He said calmly. “In turn, we deserve to die. But so does she.” 

Sejeong seemed to have calmed down at his words. “You’ve a point. However, I assume you know about another survivor from that church massacre?” She asked, glancing at the footage on the laptop. “Younghoon is alive. I should have anticipated it. Mutants can be invincible.” 

“Sooner or later they’ll realize that they don’t need to listen to the likes of us,” Myungjin said quietly, replaying the footage. “That doesn’t mean we can’t try and make them bow down to us. We still outnumber the likes of them by a vast majority.” 

She shook her head. “No. That will never work on them.” 

“How do you know if your army has never even tried to stop them?” 

“You think I didn’t try? They’re too powerful, and that was just four of them, there’s no telling what can happen if there’s more.” 

The door opened again, and Gunghwa appeared, holding her phone. “Sejeong, it’s Euijin” she handed her the phone. Sejeong placed it on speaker mode. They heard heavy breathing on the other line. 

“Sejeong, Jungah’s alive. She’s alive..” she trailed off, sounding pained. They heard the sound of a gunshot, and the call disconnected. The two of them exchanged looks. 

“There it is” Sejeong said stiffly. 

“Better alert your army, and the crime council if they ever set foot in Japan” Myungjin advised her. 

“You’d do well to do the same.” She said. 

~ 

Juyeon wiped the sweat from his face with a towel. He was practicing his punches and kicks against the punching bag in the training room. Mirae watched him punch the bag as hard as he could. “Adjust your form, don’t kick with your toes unless you want them to break” She said, and he did as he was told. “You’re doing better” she smiled. 

“Thanks” He beamed, and followed Mirae to the spiked gauntlet where she started practicing this time. Juyeon stepped back a little, unsure. “Am I going to practice on this one next?” he asked. 

She looked over at him. “If you want, you can, but I can only guarantee you that this will hurt” she touched one of the spikes. “This will hurt more than the punching bag” she added. 

Juyeon stared at the gauntlet, and its many arms, one of which broke off from Mirae’s kick the other night. “I will, soon. I need to know how to withstand the pain.” 

Mirae nodded. “That might be enough for today. Training you is going to take a while” she explained, and he unwrapped the bandages from his knuckles on his way to the water dispenser. She looked over at him. “You want to try sparring with me?” She asked with a grin. 

He looked back, intrigued by the idea. “Sure, I want to learn more” he smiled. 

“Alright then,” she went to the mat in the middle of the room. “Try me. I can’t promise I’ll go easy on you, but, like we agreed, no powers” she said. 

Juyeon took a deep breath, and eagerly walked up to her and stopped in a stance. “No powers” he agreed, and tried to attack, only for Mirae to dodge him and before he knew it, he was lying on the mat. 

“You shouldn’t take it easy on me just because I’m a girl” Mirae advised him, helping him up. She went into a stance again. “Again, I’ll attack and you try and defend this time, okay?” Juyeon nodded and in seconds, she had him on one knee. “Don’t hesitate” she said. 

“I’m not” Juyeon pushed her off and tried to attack, Mirae blocking his every punch and strike. 

“Good. Fights will never be fair, so watch your back” She said, flipping him over. Juyeon landed on the mat again. “Like this one” she added, helping him back up. He hit her in the stomach, and she backed off with a groan, only for him to land on the mat again after a few seconds. 

“You’re like a ninja” Juyeon panted, and Mirae helped him up again. “I give up, you’re really good, but I think I’ve learned a lot even in this short time.” 

She smiled. “Good, just remember the things I told you, and in time you’ll be as good as me, maybe even better.” 

He scoffed. “As if that’s ever going to happen, but in time, maybe, I wonder when that would be” he chuckled, following her out of the room. “If you’re hungry, I made guacamole, we can have that with chips” Juyeon suggested. 

“Maybe later, I have to meet Jihoon at the grocery. We’ve run out of food. Doesn’t Chanyeol need you at the restaurant?” She asked curiously. 

“Not today, tomorrow again” Juyeon replied. 

“Then drink water, cool down, and eat. You did really well for your first time sparring” Mirae assured him. “I think most wouldn’t know what to do when they do something like this for the first time.” 

“I think so too,” He said. “But after what we’ve been through, last year and months ago, I think I shouldn’t be afraid of fighting, I’ve done it, sort of, while I’m in my metal form.” 

“You have,” She nodded. Mirae watched him key in the passcode of their apartment. “Hey, we’re all restless from what happened” she assured him. 

That made Juyeon walk up to her. “What are you thinking of doing?” he asked. 

“I don’t know yet,” she shrugged. “But I feel like I should go back to Sky Sushi or something. Something really doesn’t feel right with this kind of news. I don’t know why, it’s just I don’t think we’re really done with it yet. I think I’ll keep tabs on what’s going on.” 

Juyeon hummed in agreement. “Me too. Tell me when you’re going back to Sky Sushi and maybe we can follow. Where’s Younghoon?” 

“He’s at the store, helping Johnny and Changmin out with the customers. He’s been lifting boxes the whole day” She replied. “You can go and tell them what I plan on doing, I’ll just do some shopping” Mirae explained. 

He looked at her with a renewed enthusiasm before hurrying back inside his apartment. 

~ 

Jihoon and Mirae stepped out of the grocery hours later, the former holding armfuls of grocery bags while Mirae held a few others. Jihoon had been eating a lot more due to his constant lessons in mixed martial arts and taekwondo, and thus needed more energy. “I bet you can beat Juyeon in a fight” Mirae grinned as they went on their way down the sidewalk in the direction of their home. 

He chuckled. “I don’t know, he’s been training under you, and you are the best I know” He said. “I think you are the best in the world. Not even the black belts I train with can probably beat you” 

Mirae shook her head. “I doubt it. There are always a lot of people better than me” She said. In the corner of her eye, she spotted some suited men, some of whom had bandages on their faces and hands. They were being led by a familiar-looking man wearing a lab coat. She could tell they were approaching them. “Get away!” She shoved Jihoon to the side as she tried to fend off the suited men. 

Jihoon fell over, scrambling to get the grocery bags together. He put them to the side and joined in the fray too, but was only knocked out by one who acted faster than he did. Mirae hit and punched some of them off, sensing that a few others were approaching. One very large man then appeared and stopped Mirae, but she kicked and punched him away, her eyes beginning to glow. “Tsk tsk, keep still, Gogo” the man in a lab coat said, watching her fight them off. 

She looked back at Jihoon, who was beginning to regain consciousness. He crawled and caught one in a lock. “No way, mister” He said, keeping still while the man writhed in pain. He got knocked out by the large man, making the other get away. 

In the midst of the fighting, the man in a lab coat loaded a dart gun he took out of his pocket and fired it at her. It hit her in the neck. Mirae blinked a few times, suddenly feeling a drowsiness come over her. The more she blinked, the more she felt like she was slowing down, until she collapsed when the large man hit her. “Bring her to the van” the man in a lab coat said, and the group carried her towards the black van that suddenly appeared. 

Jihoon scrambled to his feet again, “MIRAE!!” He yelled, calling out to her. He looked at the van that was starting to disappear in horror. “Oh shit.” He picked up the grocery bags and raced, trying to catch up to the van and at the same time wondering what he should do next. “MIRAE!!!” He shouted and kept running, going in the direction of the store. 

He nearly stumbled over when he arrived, seeing Johnny and Younghoon pack a few albums and posters into some plastic bags. “Hey, hey,” Changmin helped him up. “You’re in a hurry to go home?” He asked. 

He shook his head. “No, they took Mirae. Mirae’s kidnapped, some guys took her with this other guy in a lab coat or something, they took her we need to find her” He said, his voice shaky and nearly pleading. 

Changmin stared at him, then looked at Younghoon and gestured for him to go to the back. “Come with us, tell us what happened in the office” He said, guiding him to the office and closing the door behind him. 

Juyeon got up from his desk and Younghoon closed the other door behind him. Jihoon put the bags down in the break room and groaned as the pain began to sink in fully. He hurriedly put ice on the side of his face. “What’s going on? Is something happening?” Younghoon asked, the three of them watching Jihoon press the napkin full of ice on his face. 

“Yes, some guys and one guy in a white coat took Mirae when we were about to go home after shopping,” Jihoon began. “She sensed they were coming for us, and she fought them off, but she got a dart and now they took her somewhere, I tried to follow but the van was fast, too fast” he said. “We need to find her.” 

The three boys gaped at her, Younghoon in particular looked horrified, as if he remembered the time he was taken. “Did you get a good look at them?” He asked, his voice stern. 

He shook his head. “I just know they had bandages on their faces and hands, like they were wounded before, and the guy in white called her Gogo” he recalled. 

“Myungjin’s men” Younghoon said through gritted teeth. He was getting angry, and at the same time worried and scared. “They might try to do something to her” 

“Please, we need to find her and get her back,” Jihoon said. “And I’m coming with you.” 

“Jihoon, you have no idea how dangerous those people who took her are,” Younghoon said. “More dangerous than the guys that tried to kill you.” 

“But I’m better now, I know how to fight” Jihoon argued. 

“Mirae won’t want you joining in,” Changmin suddenly spoke. “She knows you can fight, but like what Younghoon said, they’re more dangerous than the guys who tried to kill you. They’ll practically kill you on sight and the last thing we know she wants is to lose you.” 

He shook his head. “I know she wants that, but I’m going after her. She’s protected me all this time, ever since the Utopian cult. Now I’m going to do the same to her, even if I’m not a mutant like you guys” He insisted, taking the bags with one hand while keeping the bag of ice pressed against his face with the other. 

Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon nodded in understanding. “Mirae told me,” Juyeon began. “She said she was planning on taking a look at Sky Sushi again since she wanted to keep tabs on this whole mess” He said. “She didn’t say when she was doing it, but she said she planned on doing it.” 

“Then we check that place out. If not, we’ll go back to where else it was she went” Jihoon said. 

“The Sphere” Younghoon spoke. He remembered the map Woong drew for them. “We’re going back to The Sphere then. If not, there’s another place I know where they might hold people hostage,” He shook his head, as if he didn’t want to remember it but he knew he had to. “Bumsoo’s villa, in Jeju island” 

“Then we’re going to Jeju island” Jihoon said. “I’m going with you guys whether you want to or not. I can’t lose Mirae” 

“I know how you feel,” Younghoon said, in the hopes of trying to convince him not to. “I’ve worked with them before, and I don’t want to lose Mirae as much as you do, but they will kill you on sight, especially if they know who you are in her life.” 

Jihoon glared at him. “And they know who you are in her life?” He pointed out. 

“Okay, calm down,” Juyeon suddenly cut in. “You can come with us. Younghoon, just lead the way to Sky Sushi first, then we’ll check The Sphere, and then if she’s not there, we’ll go to the villa. Let’s get ready to go in five minutes” He instructed, and they split up. 

~ 

The sky had gotten dark. Younghoon drove down the road leading to Sky Sushi, with Jihoon tagging along with them. He understood Jihoon very well, and how determined he was to get Mirae back, and he was trying his best not to break down, knowing what could happen to her. He knew she was strong, that she can get out of it alive, but he knew how dangerous they were. 

For the first time, it was Mirae that needed help and not the other way around, and Younghoon felt a little guilty knowing that she was always the one doing the saving when it came to this. This time, the love of his life was the one that needed to be saved, and it was the only reason why he was determined to go back to the places in his past. 

“We’ll get Mirae back, I know we can, but I think they’re doing this because they know we’re going to come for her…” Changmin muttered, breaking the near-deafening silence. 

“Then don’t say I didn’t warn you guys,” Younghoon mumbled as he pointed it out. “She can take them on, I think. If Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan were with us, we’d be able to find her easier…” he added. 

“By now, Hyuk would know what we’re doing, and what’s happened to her just by reading our minds,” Juyeon said. “But he’s not here, as much as we know he’d probably want to be. He’s off doing another case, and she said he hasn’t picked up his phone since the last time they saw each other.” 

“Is Chanyeol on a case too? What about Jaehwan?” Jihoon suddenly asked them. 

Changmin leaned forward. “We haven’t seen Jaehwan in a while, we just assumed he’s off on a case as well. Chanyeol’s got his own case to worry about too” He explained. “It’s just the five of us in this time.” 

His explanation made Jihoon sigh and sit back, his brows furrowed as he looked out the window. “So what’s the plan when we get to Sky Sushi?” He asked, shifting the topic back. 

“You’re the only one the people there don’t know, so you might have to distract those who could..” Younghoon said, glancing at Jihoon. He knew it was pointless to argue that he stay behind and wait, but this was a lot more dangerous now. 

Jihoon nodded. “Good. I’ll be able to sneak in there” He said, unable to hide his awe when they approached the restaurant past the gates of the village. He cracked his knuckles, clenching his fists. 

“We’ll try and sneak through the back” Younghoon agreed. 

“You can’t go through the back, not if those people who caused a riot when they saw you” Changmin pointed out. 

“Then I’ll fly on the roof, no one’s going to notice especially if it’s dark outside” Younghoon replied, parking the car in the spot where more trees obscured them from view. “I hope they didn’t do anything to Mirae. They won’t stand a chance against her, somehow.” 

The four of them got out of the car and observed the restaurant from their places. It seemed a little too quiet, and there were only a few cars parked nearby. “They could be keeping Mirae there” Juyeon said. 

“She’ll be fine, she always says she is” Jihoon said. “But this time, I don’t think I believe that. Let’s go” and he led the way down the hidden path. 

~ 

Mirae opened her eyes. She felt the coldness of the concrete floor under her. She blinked a few times to wake up fully. She didn’t know what hit her, and she didn’t know how long she was out, but she noticed that she was somewhere else. Behind her was a wall, and in front of her were bars. Outside was a pathway that seemed to be covered in more ice the farther it went, and a gust of freezing cold air swept inside. She rubbed her arms and felt around her jacket pockets. Her cards were still in there. She went up to the bars, noticing the path and her eyes widened at the end of it, the ice covered threshold of what looked like a nearby freezer. 

She felt a little stuffy upon swallowing. There was something hard pressing against her neck and she felt it. Her eyes widened again when she felt a collar around her neck, the same kind of collar she remembered Younghoon having when they fought the Kang family and their goons. 

“I see you’re now awake” 

From the fog, the man she remembered wearing a white lab coat appeared, looking satisfied with herself. “Where am I?” she asked bluntly, and he only chuckled. 

“You’ll forgive me, but the boss wants you placed in here, where you won’t cause a scene” he said. “Oh and, I wouldn’t try using my powers if I were you” he added with a simper, gesturing to the collar she had on. 

“We destroyed these” she muttered, feeling the collar again. 

The man shook his head. “Ah, yes, I’ve been informed of your involvement in taking them down, I remember it like it was yesterday, where you burst in the lab and tried to threaten my previous bosses,” he recalled. “Thankfully I got the schematics and plans from Hyunggu before I ran out of there so I made a new one” he beamed. “You know what that could do to you if you should try, right?” 

“Vividly” Mirae replied, giving him dagger looks. 

He smiled. “Only, I’ve turned up the wattage of that thing. It’s enough to blow your head off.” 

She shook her head. “That doesn’t scare me. Now what do you want with me? What does your boss want with me? The chips?” she asked. 

“That’s for you to learn” He replied. “In the meantime, you should try and make yourself comfortable. Try and break out, we’ll know. Try and kill the people watching over you and we’ll know” he gestured to the two large men that appeared, unfolding their stools and bringing a small table over. “What the hell are you doing with those things?” he asked through gritted teeth. 

“Listen bub, if we’re going to watch over her, we may as well be given some extras while we keep an eye on her” one of the large men spoke. 

The man in a lab coat stiffened up. Mirae looked him in the eye. “If you’re going to keep me here, at least tell me what your boss wants with me? Other than you fulfilling a personal vendetta” she pointed out. 

“The boss,” the man in the lab coat stepped forward. “Wants you. He wants what you have, he wants what you are, and when everything’s ready, you’ll see what he means.” 

The man left, leaving her with the two large men. Mirae glared at them and stepped back, watching them begin their little card game. 

~ 

Changmin sped past Younghoon, Juyeon, and Jihoon towards the back entrance, moving fast enough to avoid being seen. The three boys pressed forward, walking faster when they saw the front entrance boarded shut, with the sign that said “Renovation ongoing.” 

“So far so good,” Younghoon said, reading the sign. Juyeon felt the board, his arm turning into metal and he eyed Younghoon, who figured out what he was thinking and nodded. “One, two, three” 

The two boys punched through the boards that covered the entrances, removing everything until the path was clear. The doorknobs were chained together, and Juyeon broke it off, swinging the doors wide open. It was still quiet. “Looks like no one’s here” He said. 

Jihoon shook his head. “We can’t be sure of that. This might be a trap” He led the way inside. The spaces that had the tables and chairs had been cleared out, including the elevated platforms that had the band and other seats. Younghoon spotted the bloodstains on the floor, remembering the brawl they got into the night they came. 

“They included a fountain now” Juyeon noticed the small pond-like structure on each side of the staircase that led to the second floor. 

“Where’s Changmin?” Younghoon asked. 

The three boys stood on alert when they heard pots falling to the floor with a clang in one corner of the place. “It’s a trap!” They heard Changmin scream, followed by a gagging sound. “Get out of here!”

“Mirae isn’t here” Jihoon felt the hairs on his arms stand on end. This time he was afraid. Juyeon transformed into metal completely, and they heard the sounds of guns clicking and cocked. “Anyone who’s bulletproof?” he asked quietly. 

“I am, right now at least” Juyeon replied, scanning the room again. 

Younghoon glanced at the younger boy. “When the shooting starts, hide behind Juyeon, I feel like trying something” he said, scanning the room as well. He glided across the room and peeled off one of the long tables from the floor. Younghoon threw it towards the wall behind the elevated seats and the stage. 

The table burst through the wall and they heard loud groans and stray gunshots. “How did you know?” Jihoon asked. 

“I just did. If they’re going to trap us, they’re hiding behind anything” Younghoon said. Juyeon took it as a cue to do the same, gesturing Jihoon to hide behind a pillar while he punched through the walls. 

“Not so fast” Someone said, making the three of them turn around. He was holding what looked like a gun made out of plastic against Changmin’s temple. “Make another move on my men and he’ll get a bullet into his brain” he said. 

Juyeon and Younghoon stood still. The metal-bender was trying to stay calm. “Where’s Mirae?” Younghoon asked. 

The man tilted his head, looking behind them. “You come out too” he said, and Jihoon slowly appeared. 

“You aren’t answering my question,” Younghoon was trying not to get angry. “Where’s Mirae?” 

“She’s not here, if that’s what you’re thinking, and as if I’d tell you where she is” The man said. He squinted at him, then his eyes widened at a realization. “Younghoon. I never thought I’d see you again, after the little mishap at the chapel. So you’re with your fellow muties now, huh?” 

“Muties?” Younghoon asked through gritted teeth. The smug look on the man’s face was making his blood boil. “Jealous?” He said, as if taunting him, and wiggled his hand out of his gloves. “Haven’t you learned from the gang by now about me? About what I can do?” He wiggled his fingers. “One touch from me and you get the life sucked out of you.” 

“That doesn’t scare me-” And he fired the gun at him, only for it to bounce off when Juyeon stepped in. He blocked everyone from getting hit, moving as fast as he could. When he was out of bullets, he backed away, letting Changmin go. 

The four boys rounded on him. “So? If you want to make it out of here alive, you tell us where they’re keeping Mirae” Younghoon threatened him. 

“What do they want with her?” Juyeon asked this time. “And be honest?” 

“You don’t want them tearing you apart” Jihoon chimed in. 

They heard the sounds of paper breaking and Changmin acted fast as the rain of bullets came flying towards them, slowing down to a stop and falling to the floor. He turned back to the man. “You were saying?” 

“Alright. They’re keeping her at The Sphere, but where exactly she would be I don’t know” He answered. 

“Good” Younghoon smiled. “Thank you for your information. Let’s go” he said, and the four of them turned back. In the blink of an eye, he kicked the man who took out a knife, knocking him out. They stared at him. “I learned it from Mirae” He beamed. 

They rushed out of the restaurant and raced to the car, Younghoon driving them away. Jihoon sat up from the backseat, a little shaken from what just happened. “Do all of you see that a lot on these things?” He asked. 

“Unfortunately, yes we do” Juyeon replied, fastening his seatbelt. “Mirae’s at The Sphere, we should think of a plan.” 

“We find Mirae first, obviously” Changmin said. 

Younghoon shook his head. “It’s not going to be that easy. For all we know they’re keeping an eye out for us,” He reached into his pocket and unfolded Woong’s drawing of the casino. “We can’t stop for Chanhee this time, we’ll have to make do with Jihoon.” 

“What do I have to do?” The boy glanced at him. 

~ 

Mirae was getting antsy. There weren’t any windows in her cell, just bars and having to stare at the two guards placed nearby playing cards. The two guards kept glancing at her, smirking and looking smug. “What are you looking at, hotness?” One of them asked. 

“I’m looking at two people who apparently suck at poker” She replied. “You guys work at a casino, what an embarrassment” she said. 

“Yeah yeah, but at least we’re not the ones trapped behind bars next to the freezer,” The other said. “You heard the boss man, you wouldn’t want to run your mouth, your powers might come in and boom! Your head’s blown off” He taunted. 

“That’s a weak threat coming from you” Mirae said. She sat back and felt around her pocket for her deck of cards. 

The two men stood on alert. “Keep your hands where we can see them” they said. 

Mirae rolled her eyes. “The two of you have the upper hand in this scenario, I can’t use my powers, can I at least play a game of solitaire from here?” She asked. 

“Uh uh, hand those over” One said. 

An idea came to mind. “Alright,” she said, getting up from the floor to hand the cards over to their outstretched hands. “You want my cards, you can have them,” and in a few swift maneuvers, the two guards were on the floor, their hands still outstretched and sliding down the bars. “Whoops” she held one card in her hand, and the moment her eyes and fingertips began to glow, she felt a powerful surge of electricity coming from the collar. 

She needed to get out, and it was taking everything in her to charge the card long enough to blow up the doors. The pain was becoming excruciating, and she stumbled back, dropping the card by the bars where it blew up. She saw a drop of blood hit her hand and realized her nose was bleeding from the shock. 

“Now I know how Younghoon feels” she muttered, crawling to her feet to get up and out of the rubble. “Now where do I go?” She stopped in front of the freezer, noticing the door at the very end. “Who the hell would put a cell near a freezer?” She mumbled, making her way through the destroyed boxes and rubble that came from the explosion. 

Mirae stumbled over some, the cold seeping into her body more and more the farther she went. “Come on,” she urged herself, and she noticed there was no doorknob in sight. She groaned and pounded her fists on the door. She didn’t want to do it, but she knew she had to. 

She stood back, and pulled out another card from her pocket. The excruciating pain that came when her eyes and fingertips glowed returned in full force the more she charged the card she was holding. With a loud groan, she threw the card towards the door. Mirae wiped the blood that dripped from her nose again. For the first time in a while, she felt completely helpless. “Come on,” she gave herself a moment to recollect her energy, and took out two cards. 

Tears were streaming down the sides of her face as she tried to endure the pain from the electric shocks while charging her cards. Mirae threw the cards to the door and covered herself from the explosion. It had caused big hole on the side of the door. Mirae crawled out with all the strength she could muster. 

She got back on her feet realizing where she was. She was surrounded by dozens of tall shelves. She was in some kind of storage facility. Mirae looked all around her before taking a step forward. She looked up for a sign of some kind and saw one that pointed to the direction of where the elevators where. 

She ran as fast as she could, fully regaining her energy, but stumbled when she felt something latch onto her ankle. Mirae looked down and saw a cord and saw another one latch onto her wrist and her other wrist until she was tied down. She groaned as she tried to wriggle free from the hold, but the ropes were bound tightly on her wrists and ankles. 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” She heard the voice of the man in a lab coat and looked up. “I knew you’d try and escape.” 

“Can you blame me?” Mirae shot. 

“Actually no, but I wanted to see how you’d get out of that freezing cold jam you were in earlier. You’re a lot stronger than I thought,” the man said. “Withstanding that amount of electricity unharmed, but I’ll let you rest, you’ll need your strength” he said, taking out a syringe from his pocket. 

“Strength? I’m not going to fight for your side” Mirae said. 

“Whether you fight or not is not up to you, but the boss man wants you, and knowing what I’m seeing here, you’re becoming more and more of an asset, all the more he wants what you have” he grinned, filling the syringe with a blue liquid. 

“No amount of experimenting can turn a person into a mutant” Mirae muttered. 

“Oh? We’ll test that theory later, for now,” The man bent down and injected the blue liquid to her neck. “Sleep” and Mirae passed out. 

~ 

Younghoon pulled the brakes as he parked the car in front of The Sphere. It seemed like everything was running like normal with the amount of people coming in and out of the entrance they saw. “Remember what we have to do. Find Mirae and maybe take them down once and for all. We might shut this place down if we have to” He said, with renewed motivation. 

“This place is big, how would we know where to start looking?” Jihoon asked, gaping at the size of the establishment. 

“Mirae mentioned the VIP rooms when we last came here, maybe we can check over there?” Juyeon suggested. 

He nodded. “She’ll have guards surrounding her so she doesn’t make a move. If that doesn’t work, we’ll go down, back to those store rooms, what have you” He checked the diagram again and they started walking. 

“You’re being unusually calm” Changmin noticed as they walked. 

Younghoon shook his head. “She did the same for me when I got caught. I need to keep it together for her sake. I nearly lost her once, I’m not going to lose the love of my life again” He broke into a run, sprinting towards the front entrance. “Cover me” he said, throwing caution to the wind as he charged towards the front doors. 

The guards who saw him took out their guns and started to shoot, only for them to freeze in horror when the bullets stopped in mid-air. Juyeon and Jihoon appeared, the former already transformed into metal. Changmin appeared as well, the guns flying out of their hands and positioned towards them instead. “Better rethink what you’re doing” he said, the guns breaking apart with the bullets rolling down into the bushes and the ponds. 

Younghoon pushed a few of them out of the way and broke through the doors, and the sound of yells were heard from the outside. Changmin hurried in, in disbelief over what he just did. “Whoa, I looked cool just now” he said. 

“We’ll have more time to look cool later, we need to find Mirae” Younghoon insisted. 

“We’ll have to split up then. I’ll go with Changmin and look into the VIP room, you and Jihoon go downstairs to the store room. We’ll meet outside again if we have nothing else to do” Juyeon suggested, and they nodded,, scattering within the casino. 

They heard more screams and people running away the farther they went, noticing that everyone seemed to be heading towards the entrances and exits. There were echoing sounds of swords swishing, along with screams and cries of men coming from the very heart of the place. 

“Do we go in there?” Jihoon turned to the taller. 

“No, we need to focus” Younghoon said, leading the way towards the emergency exits. “Juyeon and Changmin might go there anyway” he added, the two of them racing towards the side doors. 

Meanwhile Juyeon and Changmin stumbled through the parting crowds as they rushed towards the source of the noises echoing in the building. “At least we’re getting everyone out of here, except some” the metal-bender said, trying to catch his breath as they skidded to a halt at a crossroads. 

The noises were louder on the hall in the left. “Do we dare?” Juyeon asked him. 

“We have to if we can get to the VIP rooms faster” Changmin said, pushing him to lead the way. The closer they got, the louder the sounds were getting. He pulled the taller back when they found one woman, wearing an eye patch and killing a big group of masked men with a samurai sword. “Whoa” he muttered. 

“That should buy us some time” Juyeon said. “We’ll stay out of her way, I guess” he suggested, his head transforming back to normal while they crept to the side of the room. 

“Ah, look who else we have here” The two boys froze, and looked up at the elevated stage. They saw Sejeong, holding a sword of her own. “Looks like revenge isn’t the only meal on the table tonight” She eyed them. 

The woman with the eyepatch turned around to look at them. “Who are you?” she asked. 

“We’re no one” Changmin spoke, trying to stay calm. The woman with the eyepatch gave off a terrifying aura. 

“They’re Younghoon’s friends. You know Younghoon, right, Jungah?” Sejeong spoke to the girl. 

“Younghoon’s dead” She said. 

“No, he isn’t. He’s somewhere in this building right now, if these two are here, including the girl” Sejeong replied. 

Juyeon clenched his fists. “Where are you keeping her?” He asked. 

Sejeong smiled. “You think I’d tell you so easily?” She said, and glanced at the remaining members of her army. “Get them” 

Changmin shook his head and raised his hand. The weapons from everyone’s hands went flying out, including Sejeong’s and Jungah’s. “You underestimate us so easily. Tell us where Mirae is” he asked. 

“Mutants? You’re mutants too?” Jungah looked stunned. 

“Yes they are. Soon enough, I’ll become one like yourselves” Sejeong said. 

“What do you mean?” Changmin said, and she ignored him. 

Jungah turned back to her. “It’s between you and me now. Where’s Bumsoo keeping my daughter?” She asked. 

“I have no idea” Sejeong replied simply. 

She shook her head. “You’re not hearing me. You tell me where Bumsoo’s keeping my daughter and I won’t fight you” she said. 

Sejeong stared at her. “So be it” and she went in a stance, ready to fight. Jungah did the same, and the two women charged towards each other, engaging in hand to hand combat while the rest of them looked on and tried not to move as the swords and weapons were still pointed at them. 

“This is all their problem now, let’s go!” Juyeon said, and with a wave of his hand, Changmin sent the weapons up to the ceiling. 

“You didn’t think I’d let the two of you go so easily” Sejeong suddenly said. “Kill them” 

Juyeon and Changmin skidded to a halt, backs to each other as they were faced with the remaining crowd of masked soldiers. “No more metal on them, what now?” Changmin whispered. 

“We fight, what else?” Juyeon whispered back, recalling everything he learned from Mirae as he faced them. 

~ 

Younghoon and Jihoon climbed down the stairs of the emergency exit. “Everything seems to lead towards the underground with these,” He glanced at the drawing of the map in his hand. “There should be a passage here or something” he said, looking around for a sign of the door. 

“We found the exit” Jihoon spotted the door at the landing of the staircase they were on. The two boys nearly sprinted down and Younghoon pushed the door open, breaking the lock. They stumbled out, and saw a group of guards standing by the elevators that led to the store room. 

All the guards standing by saw them. “Did you miss us?” Younghoon said, removing his gloves. “Come on, I know you want to get us for what happened a few days ago” He taunted. Jihoon went into a stance, prepared to fight. “Give us your best shot” He said. 

As the guards began to attack, Jihoon easily defended himself, disarming the guards he came into contact with while Younghoon punched the rest of them off, reaching over to press the button. As the elevator doors opened, he pulled Jihoon inside and before the guards could get to them, the doors closed. 

The younger stared at the doors. “Whoa, this is the first time since that mugger a few months ago where I got to use my fighting outside the training centers, it feels awesome” Jihoon was thrilled. 

Younghoon put his gloves back on. “Mirae has to be here, she has to be down here. She can’t have left” He muttered. They looked around at the panel, noticing that it was taking a little longer until the doors opened again, and when it did, the first thing Younghoon saw made him stare in horror. 

Mirae was strapped to a chair, and she was wearing the collar he wore back when they encountered the Kang Family. There was a machine behind her, and needles that were pointing towards her hands and the sides of her neck and even at her lower back, aiming at her spine. She was regaining consciousness. 

“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” the man in a lab coat that Jihoon saw was standing next to her. He turned to Younghoon. “Kim Younghoon, you’re alive” He said. 

“And you’ve got my girlfriend” Younghoon shot back, his fists clenched. He was trying to be strong despite seeing her in that position. 

The man in a lab coat smiled. “It’s really so easy to get the best of people when they care about each other. However in this case, this isn’t about you. Technically it is, but it’s more about what you are, a mutant, and when the boss and myself watched that little brawl you got yourselves into at Sky Sushi, the idea came to my head that perhaps the gene that makes you what you are is present in all of us” 

Mirae blinked a few times, waking up more and more and seeing Younghoon and Jihoon’s faces several feet away. She noticed the needles and tried to stay calm, noticing what the man in the lab coat had in his hand. It looked like a remote. “If you’re planning to kill me, you can go ahead,but I should tell you right now that it’s going to take a while” She said coldly. 

The man turned around. “I am aware of your ability to heal, Ms. Lee Mirae, don’t think I don’t know that, but your friends can’t, and they’re just in time to see you endure so much pain.” 

“NO” Younghoon yelled. 

“Oh yes. The only way to become a mutant, is to dig deep. Blood isn’t enough. It doesn’t quite have the essence of being one, isn’t that right, boss?” He said to the man behind Younghoon and Jihoon. It was Myungjin, and behind him was Woori. 

“He’s absolutely right. I never thought I’d see you again, Younghoon” Myungjin glanced at Younghoon. “You remember Woori, right?” 

“Look at you, still that tall, cool drink of water that tried to put me in a coma those years ago” Woori shot. Younghoon gritted his teeth. 

“Those friends of yours are being ripped apart upstairs as we speak” Myungjin commented smugly. Younghoon held up his gloved hand, as if trying to threaten them with it. “Begin the extraction” He said to the man in the lab coat. 

“NO” Younghoon yelled and attempted to attack, but Myungjin was too fast. Jihoon joined in to help him but was also held back just as fast. Woori had also joined and fought him off easily. 

The sounds of engines whirring filled the other part of the room and Mirae saw the needles go closer and closer to her skin. The man in the lab coat watched proudly, with a hungry expression in his face. “This process will be very painful” He said. 

The needles were piercing through her skin and she was clutching the armrest as hard as she could, trying to withstand the pain. It was becoming more and more excruciating the deeper the needles went, especially the one that was digging into her spine. Mirae was yelling and yelping in pain. Younghoon groaned and hit Myungjin harder, trying to attack him as much and as hard as he could, but he ended up on the floor. Jihoon slid all the way back to the wall. “MIRAE!! MIRAE!!” Younghoon called out, trying to dodge Myungjin’s hits and kicks as fast as he could. 

“I should have known she’s the new girl in your life” Woori kicked him down. 

“Yeah, and she’s the only one who can touch me” Younghoon groaned and kicked her down as well, Jihoon crawling back to his feet to get at her as well.


	6. A.K.A Final

Even with their combined efforts, Younghoon and Jihoon were no match for Woori and Myungjin. The impact from Younghoon’s falls caused cracks in the floor and on the walls. “Mirae!!” He called out, seeing her grab hold of the armrests and the needles further penetrating her body. 

“Don’t get in the way, sweetie,” Woori said, flipping him over. “Just wait a little bit more until we’re done with her” she added. 

Younghoon groaned and caught her wrist. “Your mother’s gone all this trouble, getting us to look for you. What kind of person did you turn into with that guy?” He said, eyeing Myungjin, who was beating Jihoon up. 

Woori scoffed and tried to break free from his hold. “He turned me into a better person, ever since you put me in that coma” A few moves and he was caught in a hold. 

“You know,” Younghoon groaned, his one hand under him as Woori caught his other gloved hand in a hold. “You really shouldn’t have worn shorts” He slipped his other hand out from his glove and touched her leg. Woori froze and started shaking all over, feeling the life force drain from her body. He let go and wriggled free, getting rid of the glove from his other hand. 

“Younghoon!!” Jihoon called out, taking in every strike Myungjin was delivering. “Get to Mirae!!” He added. 

Myungjin kept his guard when he approached, kicking him to the side but only getting stuck mid-way when Younghoon bent his leg down the middle, making him growl in pain and the sound of bones breaking filling the room. “Where are Juyeon and Changmin?” He found the strength to block every hit Myungjin could muster. 

Jihoon ran towards the machine, punching the man in the lab coat senseless. Mirae was weakening in the chair, tears streaming down her face as she endured the pain. “Come on, Mirae, stay awake, stay awake” He knelt down in front of her, trying to figure out a way to turn off the machine and get rid of the needles. Jihoon spotted a cartridge from the sides, being filled up with a murky red liquid that he figured wasn’t just her blood, but some tissue. 

The man in the lab coat cackled as he crawled away with a bloody nose. “She can’t die, but she’ll be dealing with so much pain. That’s what she gets for defeating my bosses” he added. 

Jihoon glowered at him, kicking him as hard as he could and punching him over and over again out of rage. He grabbed him by the collar, his face twisted in anger. “You tried to kill me first” He punched him. “You should be so lucky Mirae spared your bosses’ lives” He punched him again, and he felt his knuckles start to hurt. “You should be grateful she isn’t the one you’re fighting with now either” He punched him again and the man passed out, nose and lips bleeding. 

He went back to Mirae, trying to figure out how to deactivate everything and destroy the cartridges. Younghoon was also glowering at Myungjin in rage. “If she dies because of you, I will not bat an eye when I walk out of here with your head on a platter” He blocked every strike made towards him mid-way, letting his strength take over and overpower Myungjin. 

“Not without a fight” He spat. 

“You tried to kill me first. That was your move, this is mine” Younghoon punched him as hard as he could. Myungjin flew several feet away, his back hitting a steel pillar. When the older man didn’t move, he ran towards Jihoon and Mirae, kneeling down in front of her and touching her face. “Mirae, Mirae, stay with me, please” He was on the verge of tears. “Mirae, stay with me” his voice cracked and he noticed the cartridges filling up. “Mirae, please, stay with me” He pleaded, patting her face to keep her awake. 

Jihoon tried punching and kicking the cartridges off. “We need something to destroy this, but it could kill her even more” he looked at Mirae, feeling his heart sink the weaker she was getting. 

~ 

Meanwhile, Juyeon and Changmin were in the midst of a full-on fight. It was them versus the remainder of Sejeong’s army, while the two women were engaging in a duel. Juyeon used whatever he learned from Mirae on the soldiers, transforming into metal just in time whenever they were attacking him. Changmin was doing the same, using whatever he learned from Mirae to his advantage, knocking several out with the legs of chairs and pushing tables against them. 

“We’ve been fighting them enough, we should end this once and for all so we could get to Younghoon and Jihoon” Changmin called out to Juyeon. 

“Yeah, this is wasting our time, do what you did at the Kang manor” Juyeon called out in response. 

“What did I do at the Kang manor?” Changmin looked at him with a confused expression on his face. 

“Throw me over” He replied. 

The metal-bender nodded and moved Juyeon through the rest of the soldiers that were standing like a bowling ball knocking pins down. “You’re cheating, mutant” One of them said, rounding on Changmin. 

“It’s not cheating if I can naturally do it” Changmin dodged a few punches sent his way. The soldier yelled in pain when he felt his hand break. He wound up accidentally punching Juyeon’s metallic hand. Juyeon flipped him over and kicked him unconscious. This left the two other women. “We’re not here for your daughter, lady,” he eyed Jungah. “We’re here for our friend, who’s being taken hostage by one of them” he gestured to Sejeong. 

Jungah stood on guard at his words while eyeing Sejeong at the same time. “And Younghoon?” she asked. 

“Younghoon’s no longer a part of them. Hasn’t been for years, he didn’t do anything wrong” Juyeon said this time. “He’s not interested in your daughter either, our friend is his girlfriend” He explained. 

Sejeong glared at them. “Are we going to keep talking or are we going to fight?” She asked sharply. 

Jungah glared back at her. “You remain outnumbered, but that doesn’t mean I’ll no longer decide to kill you” and in one swift motion, she hit Sejeong on the foot with the heel of her shoe and with another kick, she landed on the floor. She glanced at Juyeon and Changmin. “Go! But leave Bumsoo to me” She said. 

“Let’s go” Juyeon and Changmin ran out of the venue. 

“I’m pleasantly surprised that she helped us,” Changmin commented as they rushed towards the passages that led them towards the VIP areas. “I thought she’d be trying to kill us too for what Younghoon did or didn’t do.” 

Juyeon led them down what seemed like a labyrinth full of doors and rooms. Changmin sighed in frustration as the two of them broke down the doors exposing what was in each room. They went back to the middle. “They’re downstairs. They’re keeping Mirae downstairs and they might need our help now” Juyeon said, and the two of them raced towards the nearest fire exit. 

~ 

“Woori might be getting up at any minute, you think you can distract her while I get Mirae out of these?” Younghoon asked him. 

Jihoon looked back at the bodies of Myungjin and Woori, the latter flinching on the floor while Myungjin lay cold by a pillar. “Yeah, I’ll keep a lookout. Where are Juyeon and Changmin when you need them, huh?” He said, getting up. 

The man in the lab coat suddenly appeared and removed the cartridge from the needle penetrating Mirae’s spine and opened it. “Rookie mistake” He grinned at them and the cartridge suddenly flew out of his hand and crashed into the wall. 

Changmin and Juyeon appeared. “You have made a mistake” The metal-bender glared at the man. 

“Touch her and you die” Juyeon threatened, his expression faltering slightly when he saw what Younghoon was trying to do to Mirae, who had been strapped to a chair. 

“It’s too late, far too late, because all this time, we’ve only been distracting you” The man in the lab coat hissed. He pressed a button on what looked like a railing, and the floor behind the chair Mirae was strapped to opened up, revealing a bigger machine that looked like a big robot, and to the boys, an action figure. 

The helmet part slid off and there was Bumsoo, his eyes were glowing and seemingly fueled by the cartridges. Younghoon, Jihoon, Juyeon, and Changmin gaped at the size. “Kim Younghoon”  
He smiled an evil smile. 

“You and I now have unfinished business” Younghoon glared at him, while trying not to break down at the same time. 

“You aren’t kidding, you aren’t kidding at all” Bumsoo replied. “I didn’t think she was that powerful, but I was wrong,” He glanced at Mirae. “I was going to use you, but you’re too easy to get, and it’s been proven right now.” 

“I’ve done nothing but do what you ask all those years ago. Why include me in your personal hit list?” Younghoon asked through gritted teeth. 

Bumsoo’s eyes glowed even brighter. “I wanted you dead because I wanted what you have, what you are, I wanted….power” He finished simply. 

“You’re already one of the richest people in the country, maybe even the whole world, you’ve got your own army, you can infiltrate any place and come out the winner” Juyeon pointed out. 

He shook his head. The machine he was in started to move towards him. “You’re not hearing me. I want power, power like this” He pushed the man in the lab coat aside, his back hitting the wall. 

“We’ve encountered so many people like you, and each time it doesn’t end well for them” Changmin said pointedly. “You can have all the power in the world, but it’ll be useless if destruction is all you want to use it with.” 

He cackled. “I detest cheap sentiment. I will be adored, I will be respected, I will be worshipped like the god I am destined to be” 

“You talk like some ancient thing” Younghoon commented. “Fanatical freak” He said. 

“Ever since the attack on Seoul, the disturbance of last year, I realized I was meant for something more, and when I came upon you, I had a strong feeling that I was meant for power too,” Bumsoo hissed. “If I’m not born like you, I can at least take your power away and live forever.” 

“You’re forgetting that everyone’s got a different power” Younghoon said. “If you’ve got Mirae’s, you don’t have the rest of ours.” 

“You will be next” Bumsoo pointed at him. “I should very much enjoy killing all of you tonight” He added, and he swept off Juyeon, sending him crashing through the wall. 

“No” Changmin concentrated and tried to take the machine he was in apart. Younghoon punched and kicked as hard as he could on Bumsoo, causing very large dents at the legs. Juyeon charged back inside but Bumsoo caught him by the head and threw him off again. 

Jihoon watched the three, and went up to the man in the lab coat, who had already been knocked out cold. He fished inside the pockets for the remote and deactivated the collar off Mirae, the device falling to the floor. He looked at the series of other buttons on the remote. He was confused, but he knew each one had to do something to the machine she was strapped onto. 

“Jungah’s here, she said to leave him to her” Changmin told Younghoon. “But she didn’t say how we’ll leave him to her” he added. 

Juyeon came back. “I’m getting tired, let’s end this” He said, catching his breath. He noticed Jihoon in the corner, figuring out what he was trying to do. “Let’s buy him some time until he knows what to press” He added. 

Younghoon and Changmin glanced at the younger boy and agreed, and the metal-bender took apart and put back together the machine Bumsoo was in. “I thought you’d know how to use those powers?” Younghoon remarked smugly. 

“Bumsoo” They heard another voice behind them. It was Jungah, her face and clothes stained with blood and she was holding Sejeong’s head in her other hand. “Where’s my daughter?” She asked. 

“Jungah, baby,” Bumsoo said calmly. “She’s somewhere safe. I see you’ve defeated Sejeong” 

“And they’ve done my work on Myungjin for me, which leaves me to you” Jungah replied. She went into a stance with her katana, and Bumsoo only chuckled. 

Changmin took the machine apart from Bumsoo, using the parts to bind Myungjin and the man in the lab coat together. Juyeon and Younghoon crushed the cartridges that were filled with a murky red liquid coming from Mirae and destroyed the machine she was strapped to. 

“Mirae? Mirae?” Younghoon worriedly took out the needles from her body. “Mirae?” He cupped her face and she collapsed forward into his arms. “Mirae? Can you hear me? Mirae?” He was fighting back his tears again. “Mirae please” He whispered shakily. 

Jihoon, Juyeon, and Changmin watched them, trying to hold back their tears as well. Mirae was still unresponsive in Younghoon’s arms. “Mirae?” He kept calling her name, even touching her face. “Mirae?” He didn’t want to accept it, that she was dead, that she was really dead and wouldn’t be healing. “Mirae” Tears were streaming down his face. “Mirae…” he kept whispering. 

“Oh no” Jihoon noticed that the cuts Mirae had on her arms weren’t healing, and a cut was appearing on her arm that Younghoon remembered she suffered during the brawl at Sky Sushi. 

“Mirae...oh my god,” He sniffled, covering the cut on her arm with her jacket, but panicked even more when he saw cuts opening up on her face and the rest of her body. “MIRAE!!” He yelled, breaking into sobs as he held her close. 

“Let’s get her out of here! Junhong can probably do something at Summerland” Juyeon suggested. 

“Then you get her out of here,” Younghoon said, wiping the sweat and his tears away from his face with the hem of his shirt. “Jihoon, you get out of here too” There was a sternness in his voice, something they hadn’t heard before, and Jihoon thought it was better to do as he was told this time. “I’m going to give Bumsoo a piece of my mind” He kissed her forehead, and let Juyeon pick her up and carry her out, Jihoon quickly following behind. 

“What about me?” Changmin asked. 

“You get out of here too, this is between me and him” Younghoon said, and the metal-bender agreed, running out. 

They heard a sound of a sword swishing, and being thrown to the side. Younghoon saw Bumsoo fall to his knees, blood trickling down the side of his mouth. Jungah noticed Juyeon and Jihoon carrying Mirae out of the chamber. She turned to Younghoon and as if she knew what he was thinking, she stepped aside. “Avenge her” she said. 

“I will” He replied and bent down. Bumsoo looked at him, with a smile on his face. “You nearly got everything from Mirae” He said. 

Bumsoo chuckled. “Nearly?”

Younghoon glared at him, and stuck his hand into Bumsoo’s chest, taking out his heart. Bumsoo fell to the ground. “Nearly. You don’t deserve to have a heart” and he crushed the organ in his hand, sprinkling the remains on the ground. He got back up, and upon noticing Woori flinch, he kicked her leg aside before leaving the place. 

~ 

“Massacre at major casino brings the shareholders to shut it down,” The news reporter said on tv. Younghoon, Juyeon, Changmin, and Jihoon were watching from the cafeteria at Summerland. Chanhee entered the room, looking equally concerned, and slowing his steps as he saw the news. “Last night, a massacre occurred within one of the biggest casinos in the country called The Sphere. Dozens of men and a few women were casualties and authorities found several weapons that may have been used in the crime,” the reporter continued. 

Younghoon sipped his cup of coffee. Mirae was all he could think about. “Do you know what’s going on?” He asked blankly. 

The shapeshifter shook his head. “They’re doing all they can. Ino and Hyunjoon are in there too, keeping watch over her. If there’s anyone who can do something about what happened to Mirae, it would be them” He assured him. 

“She’s always gotten out of everything alive, I think this might be the scariest one” Jihoon said, helping himself to a roll of kimbap that came out from the line of boats. 

“She’ll be alright,” Changmin tried to remain positive. “I know she will. She’s strong, she can get out of this, maybe even stronger than ever” He assured them. 

They looked back up at the tv, showing the floors of the elevated platforms that were littered with bodies. “I’ve received a report that the massacre in the upscale Sky Sushi is also related, and some of the bodies identified are Jeon Bumsoo, one of the country’s known drug lords and gangsters, his daughter Jeon Woori, Japanese crime council leader and Sky Sushi owner Shin Sejeong who was found decapitated, and Han Myungjin, owner of The Sphere. All of whom, with the exception of Jeon Woori, are involved in perhaps the biggest cases of drugs, prostitution, racketeering, money laundering, embezzlement, and murders.” 

“Oh, and then I thought I could go back there and cash in the chips I won” Chanhee suddenly said, and everyone gave him a look. “...Should I not?” and Changmin shook his head. 

“What now?” Juyeon asked them quietly. He wasn’t sure if he could talk about it or not. “Even if we’re done, this feeling sucks.” 

“We could use a break, a long break” Changmin said. 

“We could stay here? Didn’t Hyunjoon say we can come here for some healing before?” Juyeon recalled. 

Younghoon shook his head. “When Mirae, and I do mean when, when she gets up and she’s better, I feel like taking her away from here for a while, like go on a vacation” He murmured, and they nodded. It was easier said than hoped for. The wait was making him think about how their relationship had their ups and downs lately. They nearly broke up, they had their first time, and now there was a chance that Mirae was now dead for good. 

The doors suddenly opened and to their surprise it was Hyuk and Chanyeol, both of whom had very worried expressions on their faces. “Where is Mirae?” The telekinetic asked. He glanced at the four boys and suddenly nodded.

“What happened to her?” Chanyeol asked them. 

“It’s a very complicated story” Changmin tried to explain, while Younghoon remained silent, opting that Hyuk read his thoughts instead. “Were you two on a case?” He asked. 

“Yeah, but we dropped everything and came as soon as we found out through Junhong” Hyuk replied. “Who would’ve thought, the first time we do things like these apart, it would end up with us nearly losing Mirae” There was a sadness in his voice. 

The fire-bender nodded. “We can agree that we’re a lot better when all of us are together” He said, and the rest of them nodded as well. 

A disk appeared in the room out of nowhere and as it lowered, the figure of Hyunjoon came into view. “What’s new?” Jihoon spoke this time. 

Hyunjoon nodded. “She’s stable, but there’s no telling when she’ll be back on her feet. She must have been put through hell for that to happen to her.” 

That worried them even more. “But she would’ve been proud of the three of you,” Hyuk suddenly said, glancing at Younghoon, Juyeon, Jihoon, and Changmin. “So would we, you guys held your own when she couldn’t.” 

“As good as that is, it doesn’t make things any better” Younghoon muttered. 

“I know.” 

Hyunjoon studied all their expressions. “You guys can stay here, like I told you. You guys need time to heal” He advised. 

“I plan to go on a vacation, maybe do some skiing in Japan with the money we got from Yoojung,” Younghoon said. “Maybe take Mirae along with me.” 

Hyuk nodded. “I’ve long told her that she needed to go away for a bit and relax. This might be that time.” 

“I’m just glad I ripped the bastard’s heart out of his body. You know what Jungah told me before she left me with Bumsoo?” Younghoon suddenly said. “She told me to avenge her, and I did. Now that chapter of my life is closed for good.” 

“As it should be now” Hyuk said wisely. 

~ 

A bright light hit Mirae’s eyelids that were slowly opening. She heard the sounds of a machine beeping and the quiet humming of the air conditioner. She took a deep breath, and felt a kind of exhaustion that she had rarely ever felt. She noticed that she was back in Summerland, in the room she remembered staying in the first time she came. 

She saw Jihoon dozing off on the extra bed, and Younghoon on the chair next to her. He had also dozed off, and from the looks of his clothes and the wounds on his knuckles, it was only a whole day since their encounter with the gang. Junhong suddenly appeared, and he smiled at the sight of her. “How are you feeling?” He whispered, trying not to wake the two other boys. 

“Like I’ve been hit by a ton of bricks, but I’m okay” She replied, raising a hand to touch her face but felt a patch of bandages. 

“You’ve been through a lot,” Junhong peeked under the bandages and his eyes widened in pleasant surprise. The cut was gone. He looked through the other bandages and found that the cuts and wounds had also disappeared, healed up completely. “And you’re getting back to normal” He smiled. 

“Good, because if I didn’t, then I’d be dead by now” Mirae said. 

Junhong carefully removed the bandages and the IV drip from her. “Hyuk and Chanyeol are here too, they’ve all been staying to see how you are” He said softly. 

Mirae sat up. “What about Jaehwan?” She asked. 

“We..don’t know where he is. I thought you guys would know but it seems like he’s been away for so long” Junhong replied. 

She nodded. “It’s like he vanished, didn’t he?” She said. 

Younghoon suddenly stirred and opened one eye, sitting up when he saw her. “Mirae” He had a sleepy smile on his face. 

“Younghoon” She said, and he sat by her bed to hug her tightly. Junhong smiled and backed away. Jihoon also stirred and woke up, sitting up in alert when he saw Mirae. Younghoon kissed her a few times and rested his forehead on hers. 

“I thought I lost you” He said. 

“I thought I lost you too, I thought it was it for me, seeing you, seeing Jihoon, all of you take them on,” Mirae said. “It’s the weakest I’ve ever been, it’s like I’m back in that sanitarium again.” 

Younghoon kissed her again. “You’ve saved me a lot, this time I saved you” He said and hugged her again. 

“Noona” Jihoon suddenly said, moving to sit by her bed too.

Mirae glanced at him. “You did well fighting them” She said, and the younger boy beamed. “Where’s Juyeon? Where’s he? Changmin too?” She asked. 

“Did someone want to see us?” 

Juyeon, Changmin, Hyuk, and Chanyeol appeared by the threshold. Mirae beamed as each of them went up to her and gave her a hug. “I knew you’d be alright!” Changmin chuckled, looking at the spots on her face and arms that had cuts. “I called it, didn’t I?” 

“The power of positive thinking” Mirae said. She turned to Hyuk and Chanyeol. “I missed both of you” 

“We missed you too. We came here as soon as we heard” Hyuk said. 

“Not exactly the way to start our first time solving cases without each other,” Chanyeol added. “We really are better doing this as a team” He said. 

“It seems like we are, we’ve had so many disadvantages without any of you around” Mirae chuckled. “We even had to ask Chanhee for help” she explained. 

“We figured” Hyuk smiled. 

“Younghoon was even getting jealous all over the place” Changmin teased. “He got jealous of Juyeon the other night because she was training him, he got jealous of Woori’s brother Woong when he said hi to her-”

“Woong. Jeon Woong?” Hyuk raised a brow, and they nodded. “I didn’t think he was related to them. That’s interesting, I’ll have to tell Jiho to keep his family history out of the papers.” 

“He even got jealous of Kevin when we came by to pick Chanhee up” Changmin finished and Younghoon nudged him.

“Ya” He said. 

“I really didn’t take you to be the possessive type” Mirae teased him. 

“Well, I’m not the only hot one in this relationship” Younghoon grinned, and she poked his side playfully. 

~ 

A few weeks later: 

The van pulled up in front of the departure bays of the airport. The doors opened and Younghoon got out, followed by Mirae, Hyuk, Chanyeol, Juyeon, Jihoon, and Changmin. “You didn’t bring any concealed weapons, did you?” Hyuk teasingly asked them while Younghoon took their luggage out from the back. 

“Just my cards. I brought a few decks along with me,” Mirae replied with a grin, giving Jihoon a tight hug. “But I have those checked in” she pointed out upon seeing their reactions. 

“Just enjoy your vacation, both of you,” Hyuk said. “Try not to do anything we wouldn’t do though” He jokingly added. 

Younghoon and Mirae laughed. “We’ll try, we’ll keep in touch. Where are we going anyway?” She turned to him. 

“Capri, in Italy” He beamed, looking pleased with himself. “The sea air can do us some good, and the view from the villa I got is beautiful” He added. 

“Okay you two, have fun, and be safe” Chanyeol grinned, gently pushing them towards the entrance.

The two of them waved to their group of friends, taking slow steps until they reached the inside. Younghoon turned to her. “We need this, you and me, but mostly you” He said. 

“I guess so” Mirae nodded. “I’ve never been anywhere outside Korea before, it would be nice to see other places for a while” she said quietly. 

Younghoon leaned in to kiss her. “I love you. Come on, a safer adventure awaits” He announced with a laugh and led the way, Mirae following him behind.


End file.
